The Social Network

THE SOCIAL NETWORK (Blu-ray)
Sony Home Entertainment

Release date: February 14th 2011
Certificate (UK): 12
Running time: 120 minutes

Director: David Fincher

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Rooney Mara, Joseph Mazzello, Armie Hammer

David Fincher: The Making of The Social Network
Aaron Sorkin: The Making of The Social Network

The Social Network lost out to The King’s Speech in the BAFTA battle for Best Film. Although Fincher picked up the award for Best Director and Sorkin for Best Screenplay, it’s still sad to see a film about a website which has changed the way we interact with one another, come close to being recognised by the British film industry, only to fall behind one about a monarchy which has no relevance to today’s generation.

Based on the 2009 novel The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal by Ben Mezrich, the film follows the early days of Facebook and how best friends Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) got into a legal battle, not only with each other, but also with Cameron (Armie Hammer) and Tyler Winklevoss (Josh Pence) who disputed Zuckerberg’s claims that he invented Facebook.

The story of Facebook begins in February 2004 at Harvard University when Zuckerberg, who was 19 at the time, launched “thefacebook.com”. Within its first month, the site had more than half of Harvard’s students registered to use it and by December of 2005, there were 5.5 million student users all posting their most intimate personal details; from their favourite songs to who they were dating and more, for any and all to view. Facebook currently has over 500 million active user with an estimated 700 billion minutes spent on the site every month.

Fincher and Sorkin tell the story by choosing not to focus on one, but several different perspectives; Zuckerberg’s, Saverin’s and the Winklevoss’s and in doing so, they build a story that is fast-paced and engaging whether the scene plays out in a dorm room, bar, nightclub or boardroom. The narrative is kept tight, never lingering after the moment has passed and stylistically they are well framed in the way all of Fincher’s movies are. The rowing sequence with the Winklevoss twins is beautifully shot, edited and scored with Trent Reznor and Atticus doing their own take on the 19th Century Norwegian composer Howard Grieg’s famous piece In The Hall Of The Mountain King.

Performances from Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Rooney Mara and Armie Hammer are strong throughout the film and it’s no surprise that Jesse Eisenberg is receiving much praise for his take on the founder of the world’s most successful social network.

As for Disc 2, if you are a fan of Fincher’s work, then you’ll enjoy seeing him setting up scenes, going over the script, organising his actors and liaising with his writer. They also go over the CGI and motion capture effects which were used to make Armie Hammer and Josh Pence appear as identical twins.

The Social Network is a film every active Facebook user should take the time to see. It might not present things exactly the way it happened, but it offers a brilliant interpretation of how it could have happened – relevant, entertaining and challenging.

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is an emerging artist with a philosophy degree, working primarily with pastels and graphite pencils, but he also enjoys experimenting with water colours, acrylics, glass and oil paints.

Being on the autistic spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, he is stimulated by bold, contrasting colours, intricate details, multiple textures, and varying shades of light and dark. Patrick's work extends to sound and video, and when not drawing or painting, he can be found working on projects he shares online with his followers.

Patrick returned to drawing and painting after a prolonged break in December 2016 as part of his daily art therapy, and is now making the transition to being a full-time artist. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, he also gives talks and presentations on the benefits of creative therapy.

Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and science fiction, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

Patrick Samuel ¦ Asperger Artist

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