THE SOCIAL NETWORK

We all know what this movie is about, so there's really no ruining the plot. A Harvard freshman, Mark Zuckerberg, creates what becomes the world's most prominent social networking website with over 500,000,000 users. Actually, this movie could have been about any start-up business venture -- who came up with the original concept, the idea, who wrote the code, who fronted the initial capital, who gets creative control, etc. But it's not about just any company -- it's about Facebook. And since anyone reading this is a user of Facebook, there is an immediate interest in the subject. It's completely understandable that we all want to know how this obsession for some, pastime for others, came into existence.
After demonstrating an unbelievable ability to understand the internet, write code, and hack into a system as secure as Harvard's, Zuckerberg is approached by a pair of twins who are on the Harvard crew team (and bear an uncanny resemblance to Judge Reinholdt) and their friend, to help them start an exclusive networking site just for Harvard students - those whose email addresses end with the prestigious @harvard.edu.
Instead of helping the twins and their friend, Zuckerberg starts developing his own site with the same concept, and called it "The" Facebook with his best and only friend, Eduardo (the money) and his roommate, Dustin (the codist).
Naturally, when the twins found this out, they were furious and tried to take back control. It's was an epic battle that, of course ended up in federal court.
And if that's not enough, there are others who Zuckerberg walked over to get FB going in the direction he had mapped out in that genious mind of his - those who trusted, helped, and believed in him in the beginning.
This movie was directed by David Fincher, so I knew it would be good. Fincher was behind some of my faves like FIGHT CLUB and SE7EN. (And props to Fincher for making Cally look so cool and hip, while making New England look boring and stiff). It was just about two hours long, and I found myself a little disappointed that it wasn't longer.
The story kept bouncing back and forth between the developing story of the growth and evolution of Facebook, and the hearings between Zuckerberg and his accusers.
A surprise to me was how influential the creator of Napster, Shawn Parker was to Zuckerberg. He gained the trust and admiration of Zuckerberg, and Zuckerberg hung on his every word to help guide him through. After all, Shawn's creation had revolutionized the music industry and helped to kill the corner record shop. He was the cavalier rebel that Zuckerberg wanted to be.
Instead, Zuckerberg comes across as an emotionless robot, so focused on his "baby" that he has no time for anything else. Ever. He was, ironically, constructing the world's foremost social site, while having zero social skills himself. The only emotion he seems to be able to display is anger, which is what got him started on the whole notion of Facebook, anyway.
It absolutely kept my interest, even though I knew (basically) what the outcome was going to be. And even though, this review and most other media that I have seen regarding THE SOCIAL NETWORK leads one to believe that Zuckerberg is a complete AH, Fincher leaves it up to the viewer to make his or her own assesments and conclusions. I, personally, came away wanting to sit down and have a beer and a conversation with the mastermind behind the worldwide phenomenon.