Brain Candy

Brilliance in Movie Form


I remember, a year ago, seeing trailers for The Social Network run before other movies played. The movie theater was awash in a giant, collective sigh. Really, a movie based on Facebook? There could really be no worse idea. Yeah, so what, it's a social networking site, big deal. I proceeded to not think about the movie right up until it was nominated for 6 Golden Globes and 8 Academy awards. I was blown away at how this movie had gotten such glowing reviews, and I resolved to see it for myself.

Upon watching it, I was completely blown away. While I had written this movie off as a crappy Facebook movie, Now I can clearly see that it's not so much about Facebook as it is about the creators of Facebook. What The Social Network does, and what so many movies year after year fail to do, is create rich, human characters that you feel for. Mark Zuckerberg's character, played by Jesse Eisenberg, is generally portrayed as a smart-ass prick without emotions, and Eduardo Saverin (played by the amazingly talented Andrew Garfield), but Zuckerberg's humanity shows through during the court cases, where his silence portrays the pain that he feels for betraying his friend.

On the topic of Andrew Garfield, his performance as Eduardo Saverin is nothing short of absolutely sensational. In a movie full of hackers and asshole entrepreneurs, Garfield is the only character who is truly and completely human. He starts out as a hopeful and helpful best friend to Zuckerberg, and the movie ups the tension when Sean Parker (portrayed by Justin Timberlake) is introduced, and the differences between Sean and Eduardo ultimately lead Eduardo to sue Zuckerberg.

The way the movie is directed and edited is nothing short of fantastic. The movie could easily have been a complete bore to watch and waste of two and a half hours, but thanks to David Fincher's unique and almost eclectic directing style as well as music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the movie manages to make a rowboat race and a dinner conversation edge-of-your-seat thrill-rides.

Of all of the movies I've seen, especially in the past few years, The Social Network ranks in the the top 3. If you're only going to see one movie for the rest of the year, I'd recommend this be the one. And certainly don't let yourself miss this amazing movie.