Film Review: David Fincher’s ‘The Social Network’ is a Rare Masterpiece

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CHICAGO – So many recent films have been called “masterpieces” by critics that the word doesn’t have the power that it once did. And yet there’s sometimes no better way to describe a film. David Fincher’s “The Social Network,” starring Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and Justin Timberlake is a masterpiece.

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 5.0/5.0
Rating: 5.0/5.0

David Fincher’s film is like a drug for cinephiles. It gets into your system and stays there for days, reigniting the passion for the medium that lost a little bit of its heat over the course of a lackluster year for cinema. By now, you’ve probably read that the film “defines the decade” or serves as a commentary on how the age of internet connectivity has actually driven us further from honest personal connections, but that’s like praising a great meal for its garnish. If you get something out of those thematic issues then it will add another layer to the experience, but “The Social Network” is a masterpiece regardless of whether or not you think it says anything concrete about the digital age.

StarRead Brian Tallerico’s full review of “The Social Network” in our reviews section.

It’s a deeper story than something merely pulled from the headlines or sociological studies about the impact of the internet. Aaron Sorkin’s incredible screenplay touches on timeless issues of loneliness, betrayal, popularity, and the tricky balance of mixing friendship and business. The film plays with themes far older than the information superhighway and the instant fame it affords. And it does so in a way that will make it far more than a mere document of the ‘00s. With spectacular performances, technical elements that are beyond criticism, and the best directorial work of Fincher’s remarkable career, “The Social Network” is one of the best films of 2010.

Sorkin and Fincher very purposefully open their film in a crowded bar with two young people trying to make a connection. Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and his girlfriend (Rooney Mara) engage in a rapid-fire conversation about how Mark can make a name for himself at Harvard that ends with the two of them breaking up. It’s clearly the inciting incident for everything that will come (and is beautifully book-ended by two thematically-related scenes in the final at) but the key line comes from the heartbroken young woman who informs Mark that it’s not the fact that he’s a nerd that will make him enemies but the fact that he’s an a-hole.

StarContinue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “The Social Network” review.

‘The Social Network’ stars Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, Justin Timberlake, Max Minghella, Joseph Mazello, Rashida Jones, and Rooney Mara. It was written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher. It opens on October 1st, 2010. It is rated PG-13.

The Social Network
The Social Network
Photo credit: Sony Pictures

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Wall street film as such, deal with one thing in comparison to this. Social and ecomimcal awkardness and human identity. The guy wanted to make a name for himself. It would easy to say the guy was sociopath nerd, who became popoluar and to the point he lost who he was. Ok in Wall street the guy got arressted, but he he still became a shadow of himself. It would be interesting to see where the face book guy is now, is he happy, does he still have thousands of friends and a beautiful girl.

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