Review of The Social Network (2010) by Alex A — 23 Dec 2018

Who can you trust? Everyone is imperfect. Everyone has flaws and insecurities. Who's legit and who's not? Can you read body language and facial expressions when you interact with someone to tell if they're genuine or not? What vibes do they give off? How much of your soul are you willing to sell in order to succeed?

All of this comes into play with The Social Network. The business world is a vicious shark tank, and only the strong, even greedy and relentless if need be, will survive. I rarely run into films like these; ones that require more than one viewing for me to fully appreciate them, but this is one of them.

The Social Network on the surface is beautifully shot, with scenes lit a certain way to embody the mood of whatever situation is occuring. The dialogue is snappy, sharp and constant, never ceasing to detract or lose focus from the central plot and story. Jesse Eisenberg is no doubt the most memorable character here, giving a semi fictitious portrayal of one of the world's wealthiest entrepreneurs. Justin Timberlake is charming as the smooth but sleazy Sean Parker, and Andrew Garfield aces it as Zuckerberg's "best friend" Eduardo, a smart young businessman with jealousy issues.

This isn't a suspense thriller or anything conventionally exciting, and I'm sure there are multitudes of people out there(like me initially) who find this film to be nothing more than about rich yuppie kids talking and talking and then suing each other over a petty situation like the invention of a social media platform. On paper, that sounds dull. But all of this is merely a template for the true meat of the film. What matters and requires attention to detail is how characters react to the actions of others, what is said to them and how, and the true nature of individuals being exposed over time.

But referring back to the opening paragraph, the highlight of this film for me is no doubt(including the dialogue) the characters in this world interacting with one another. It's the business talk, the verbal warfare and dog-eat-dog nature of rising to the top that makes the film more and more engrossing on multiple rewatches. To succeed, sacrifices must be made, big or small. It's lonely at the top, and nobody makes it there without self-inflicted emotional voids. That's the harsh reality of business, and these characters in this story are dead in the middle of it playing their cards and trying their best to scratch and claw their way to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow no matter what.

One of the many things I find impeccable about, The Godfather, for example, is the scenes where characters have business meetings. Not only is it fascinating to listen to in and of itself, but the devil is in the details. The details being that if you focus on not only what is being said, but on the body language, facial expressions and eyes of the characters, you can tell who is to be trusted or not. The Social Network excels in that aspect.

This is a unique film that improves more and more with multiple viewings.