The Social Network

Mark Zuckerberg (read: the smug little shit behind the latest Internet phenomenon) strikes me as the modern day epitome of geek-to-chic in this loosely-based-on-a-true-story drama with a flare of documentary and a smartass twist of comedy: the Social Network. Or does he? Sure he eventually got his vengeance on a hormone-fueled break-up with his college sweetheart, all the cash in the world like you couldn't believe, and a cyber empire that promises to live on long after the days of college are all behind us. But at the end of the movie, I came to a conclusion that Zuckie is just an insensitive, self-centered A-hole who happened to be portrayed in a much deeper pool of A-holeness in the same movie made about his greatest invention: "the" Facebook.

Now the argument of whether or not all the events are genuinely reenacted on the big screen or if the plot is clearly in favor of those who are against Zuckie and Facebook is positively irrelevant to my blog. I'm only criticizing the movie, not the history behind it.

So I came to the movie theater expecting an exciting on-screen discussion of how Facebook has a frightening control over my social life or at least how it managed to slip the word "facebooking" into my 10 year-old brother's vocabulary. And to be honest, Zuckie well outdid himself. Being a college dropout, he makes all the nerds and computer geeks out there once again get their hopes up for one day, they will become rich and famous through a moment of pure creativeness. And I don't doubt him, because anything could happen. You don't even need to be smart to be famous and rich these days (*cough* Jersey Shore dirtbags *cough cough*). However, I like that the movie makes it clear that the success of Facebook comes from controversies, lawsuits, betrayal, and definitely not a fairy tale.

The movie has an interesting approach to narrative. It starts with scenes from the past, and then mixes scenes from present to lead the story through the narratives of multiple characters, Zuckie himself included. First of all, the events in the past and present are chronological and parallel to each other, make a typical story telling narrative. Some people may have trouble following the plot at first, but as the movie reveals more plot, the flow becomes more fluent. Nonetheless, this approach makes it hard to tell when the movie begins, when it introduces conflicts, and when it ends.

The actings are okay, I wouldn't complain much except the fact that the actor who played Zuckerberg has a weird mumbling voice. Overall, the success of the movie at Box Office largely depends on the hype of Facebook. And Justin Timberlake. The movie is kind of a must-see, but I wouldn't give it a second look.

P/S: And the last scene where Zuckerberg desperately refreshed his Facebook page to see if his ex has accepted the friend request. Pa-the-ti-ca!