*** Official THE SOCIAL NETWORK Review Thread (1 Viewer)

[mattCR]

This film now joins my list of Top-10 for the year. The performances here are very, very good.

I often judge a film as being "good" if it's something I would see again. Immediately after leaving the theater, I wanted to see it again because I felt as though there was so much I had missed. Not because it wasn't there, but because the level of performance was so good that things I knew were going on didn't catch my attention.


The performances in this film are not over the top. They are elegant in their portrayal of the people involved.

This goes into my list of films (which right now includes only TS3, Temple Grandin, Inception, etc.) as films that I will own as they are released.

A very interesting "biopic" of a company, per se. I don't think I've ever seen anything where you realize the creator of a site aimed to bring so many people together has so much trouble being close to any person. And that simple contradiction and the way it is laid out is fantastic.


4.5 Stars.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now the Official Review Thread for "The Social Network". Please post all HTF member reviews in this thread.

Any other comments, links to other reviews, or discussion items will be deleted from this thread without warning!

If you need to discuss those type of issues then I have designated an [COLOR= #44708c]Official Discussion Thread[/COLOR].




Crawdaddy

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Very dense and compelling film. Sorkin and Fincher complement one another's weak (which is a relative term) areas and the resulting film is pretty incredible.. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, though it made me feel old. I believe the layers of the story and the impacts of the creation of Facebook on the major parties involved will reward subsequent viewings.

Brilliantly directed by Fincher, well-acted uniformly by a strong cast (making some unlikeable characters very intriguing and human), and with a crackerjack script, this film delivered. And I believe it will continue to do so. I also really dug the score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Solid script and direction and the cast is actually pretty solid as well. The 2 hours flew by, as the pacing was very good. Not really much more to say, it's worth seeing if the subject matter intrigues you.


I give it 3.75 stars, or a grade of A-.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

For my own reasons I'm not a huge fan of Facebook, I'm on it but rarely ever visit the site so when I heard they were making a film based on it's creation it sounded about as exciting as tying my shoes. But then this incredible hype began and the film fan in me got curious, I have stated that I wanted to see it but probably not in theaters...I was wrong.


On a whim a friend and I went last night and it was one of the most intriguing films I've seen in a long time, savagely written, acted and directed it shows what you get when you bring two enormous talents together, a film of staggering thought, passion and momentum.


I had never for even one second given any thought as to who created Facebook and I didn't care one way or the other but this film made me care mainly because of the astonishing performance of Jessie Eisenberg who I just saw in Zombieland and liked but here he was marvelous, portraying Zuckerberg as neither good nor bad, the film presents you with what happened and leaves it to you to decide how you feel.


I've read complaints on other boards that some will not go see the movie because it's about Facebook, it isn't, really, the film could have been about anything, any company, anywhere, about anyone who recognized an idea and ran with it...it just so happens that it's about the young man who created Facebook.


Full of passion, betrayal and even fun, it's easily one of the best movies of the year and will no doubt garner some nominations come Oscar time.


At the end of the day it won't compel me to want to visit Facebook more often but it is one hell of a success story.

 

[TravisR]

I've seen about 50 movies that were released this year and The Social Network is the best of the lot. From the direction to the acting to the cinematography to the odd score, this movie is excellent. You can all but guarantee that this movie will be nominated for Best Picture this year.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Patrick's right, the two hours flew by as I never looked at my watch until nearly the ending of the film. Yes, it's a great film that will be Oscar nominated in multiple catagories. I love films in which they show the main characters as flawed individuals who are neither good or bad, but simply a mixture of both which reflects most of us.







Crawdaddy

 

[Cory S.]

Agree with everyone here. It doesn't reach the heights of Fincher's masterworks (Zodiac Director's Cut, Se7en, and Fight Club), but in a way, it feels just as important as Fight Club did. It easily sits in the number two slot behind Inception in my Top Ten this year. With a firecracker script, excellent performances, espeically from Garfield and Timberlake, and the Fincher direction, it'll get multiple nominations this awards season. And it deserves it.

 

[Chad R]

The comparison David Fincher himself made to Citizen Kane (he said it was the "Citizen Kane" of John Hughes films) is actually very apt. The Social Network is carefully constructed, wonderfully acted and smartly written. But neither film is very affecting on an emotional level.


At the end of the day, Fincher's new film is about a bunch of over-privileged boys fighting over something that might be worth a lot of money, but is actually very inconsequential. These guys aren't fighting over the recognition for the cure of a fatal disease or anything that will have a lasting impact on society, they're fighting over a grotesquely overrated website that will probably have its requisite fall from pop culture reverence just like dozens of sites before it. And even if it doesn't, it's still just another website that substitutes empty "connections" and "likes" for real human interaction. Don't most people log on to Facebook just to see what the girl or boy they had a crush on in High School looks like now? And don't most of us hope she/he has gotten fat?


Yes, for some of the characters (and I believe these are more constructed characters than anything resembling the facts) their motivations run deeper. For Mark it's about creating something that's popular due to an overwhelming feeling of loneliness; for Eduardo it's about a feeling of betrayal and loss of a friend. But there's no emotional bite to those stories simply because Zuckerberg is portrayed as being so emotionally distant. It keeps the audience at arm's length as well.


Sorkin's script dazzles you with his cleverness. The allure of the film is watching these young actors "sing" his dialogue that has pounding rhythm and lyricism to it. But ultimately, the film is as empty of an experience as the site these kids are fighting over. You get a real sense that regardless of their motivations, whether it be money, or revenge, or loneliness -- they're doing everything for themselves. And the film is similarly selfish. It's a way for Sorkin to show how good he is at dialogue. The actors get to show how good they are so they can get more work. For Fincher it's about dazzling us with "seamless" visual effects. But they don't really leave the audience anything to take away for themselves. There's no grander wisdom to it all.


It's a fascinating film to watch. It engages you intellectually. It moves briskly. It's entertaining to watch. But it's really a very empty experience. Which is exactly how I feel about Citizen Kane. I can appreciate the film for its technical brilliance, but I would never say I love it.

 

[fanny8788]

It is a great movie. I watched its premier show. The Social Network is an incredible drama directed by David Fincher. The movie centers on the life of creators of one of the popular social networking sites, Facebook.This was the main thing that i liked the most in it. It impresses viewers by revealing the true story of the evolution of the site into a social phenomenon. Theme of the movie is very impressive.

 

[Carlo_M]

Two thumbs up, four stars, A. That's my grade.


And this is something of a rarity in mainstream Hollywood: Fincher has made a compelling film without any real obvious protagonist. He did it on the strength of the story, the writing, the dialogue, the performances, the photography and his direction. I wasn't rooting for anyone, yet the complexity and denseness (in terms of plot, dialogue and emotion) of the film kept me engage for the two hours (which as others mention flew by).


Will definitely either see this again in the theater, or it will be a release date purchase on Blu.

 

[Edwin-S]

Entertaining, but it seemed as shallow as the characters that it was examining. Fincher comparing this to "Citizen Kane" is just ego.


By the end of this film, the only character I had any respect for was Zuckerberg's former girlfriend: a character that had all of about 10 minutes of actual screenplay. Also, this film, for some reason, made me glad that I haven't opened a Facebook account.


If this film is "emblematic of its times" (as one review blurb states) then it does help to explain why America is circling the drain economically and socially.

B+ for not being boring.