Well the odds have been well and truly defied, as David Fincher has delivered one of, if not the film of the year. Inception currently is my number one film but Social Network may eclipse it after a second viewing.
Below are ten reasons why everyone should get past the stigma of "the movie about Facebook" and watch The Social Network.
1. The opening scene
It is the best opening scene since Inglourious Basterds and these five minutes are better than most of the films that have been released in 2010. It tells you everything you need to know about Zuckerberg and that the man who created the biggest social network in the world cannot interact socially himself. The crackling dialogue that cracks back and forth between Zuckerberg and his girlfriend who is breaking up with him has the feeling of a Forties film that many argue "they don't write them like that anymore", but this proves that they can.
2. Aaron Sorkin
The man responsible for the script and the wonderful dialogue is the man behind The West Wing and should start using his talent to write his acceptance speech for the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Anyone who can deliver a 160 page screenplay that zips by in 2 hours deserves the plaudits (the rule of thumb for screenplay is that each page equates to a minute of screen time).
3. Jesse Eisenberg
He is the thinking man's Michael Cera and with his portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg is fantastic and should mean that he will escape Cera's fate of being accused of always playing himself. In the past Jesse has always played likeable, nervous geeks but Zuckerberg (in this film) is not a particularly likeable character and Eisenberg really raises his game to give him a coldness to his eyes that while emotionless on the outside, you can see that internally he is processing things like a computer.
4. David Fincher
He has really matured and this is his most complete film since Zodiac. He has forgone his traditional love of striking, complicated visual trickery that overwhelmed Panic Room and Button and focused on the story to deliver a drama that moves at the pace of a thriller and feels like truly effortless filmmaking.
5. The score
Trent Reznor was responsible for one of the most famous music cues in recent film history with his "Hello Zepp" cue from Saw which has been used in every one of the 102 sequels since, but working with Atticus Ross, they have delivered a fantastic electronic score that generates the hum and buzz of computers and evokes memories of the score to Fight Club, also by Fincher.
Trent Reznor was responsible for one of the most famous music cues in recent film history with his "Hello Zepp" cue from Saw which has been used in every one of the 102 sequels since, but working with Atticus Ross, they have delivered a fantastic electronic score that generates the hum and buzz of computers and evokes memories of the score to Fight Club, also by Fincher.
6. The new Spider-Man, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and that kid from N*Sync are in it
Use this as a chance to see the talents of Andrew Garfield, Rooney Mara who will take on these iconic roles next year, and also proof that JT can actually act, proving a great choice to play the sleazy, seductive Sean Parker whose influence drives a wedge between Mark and Eduardo.
Use this as a chance to see the talents of Andrew Garfield, Rooney Mara who will take on these iconic roles next year, and also proof that JT can actually act, proving a great choice to play the sleazy, seductive Sean Parker whose influence drives a wedge between Mark and Eduardo.
7. Citizen Kane
Some reviewers have made comparisons to "the greatest film ever made" which is a very risky thing to do, but I believe they are valid. Like Kane, this is a story about a man made up from testimonies of other people so you never get to know the real Mark Zuckerberg. It even has a nice Rosebud style moment at the end of the film that might explain his motivations.
8. The Winklevoss Twins.
It has been said that CGI should only be used to enhance the story, not become the story and in The Social Network, Fincher has one of the best and most subtle uses of CGI in recent memory. The twins are credited as Armie Hammer and Josh Pence but really these identical twins both have the head, face and voice of Armie Hammer which was digitally grafted onto the body of Josh Pence. Watch the film and you will hardly be able to notice the effect.
9. It makes scenes of people sitting around using computers interesting and exciting!
10. It shows that geeks who create websites getting success, money and getting laid.
I hope that the same is true for myself and my blog!
I'm afraid I can't see how you can compare the first scene with that of the Basterds. Christoph Waltz is fantastic in Basterds as the tension builds, knowing what will ultimately happen. In Social Network the script is great, I just felt that it was spoken far too fast (I'd just go my ear in by the time the scene was ending), and there was too much American-college-wanky-club/frat chat that meant nothing to me, which I felt made it harder to understand.
ReplyDeleteWell that's just like my opinion man! Could just be me. I did think the rest of the film was great though, apart from bad cold breath, but we wont go there!
Didn't say it was better, although they are both long scenes with two people talking around a table. It just gave me the same feeling of being very impressed and that it sets up the movie perfectly.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you about the CGI cold breath left over from Titanic, only fault in the film.