As a person who frequently uses Facebook, mostly to stalk my ex-girlfriends (Laura! Why won't you love me?!), I was interested, but cautious in what the movie on the social networking site would offer. The quality was thrown into even more question given that it was being directed by David Fincher, who lost my interest with the films The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Panic Room. So without further introduction, here is my review.

The narrative structure of the film is jumbled with multiple time line happening simultaneously, yet Fincher manages to make it work by not overburdening the audience with information. Even more than Fincher's directing, perhaps the more shining point of film behind the camera is Aaron Sorkin's incredible dialogue. Although this may just be a small gripe, I found the film to be far too dark at points - especially in one instance where a College party was filmed like it was a crack den, and if someone were turn on the lights, the partygoers would hiss in agony.

Jesse Eisenberg steps out of the status of being the "Poor Man's Michael Cera" and into a role that will help define his career as Facebook "founder" Mark Zuckerberg. Many have described his performance as being a 'funny asshole', but it all honesty, he plays the role more like someone suffering from Asbergers syndrome; he is undoubtedly a genius although ignorant when it comes to understanding the more sensitive aspects of social life. Andrew Garfield as Eduardo is perhaps my favorite part of this movie, while not only being the voice of reason, he is the emotional center of the film whose character genuinely believes that god intentions and friendship can outlast greed - needless to say, problems ensue with that philosophical belief. While I am not the biggest Justin Timberlake fan, I did like him in the movie as Sean Parker, the partying founder of Napster whose self-destructive tendencies grow on Mark like a cancer. Timberlake imbues the spirit of the up-and-coming business entrepreneurs combining the personality of a motivational speaker and a champion beer pong player.

Perhaps the biggest problem when seeing this film comes in the form of believability. With numerous outside reports from the people who were actually depicted in the film, it seems that many aspects of the story were played up more for drama than authentic reenactments. Also, while I do understand that this movie may have been made so soon to capitalize on Facebook's current domination on our culture, the story feels like it is too soon to depict this certain story - especially given that some of the trials depicted in the movie are still ongoing. I would have liked to have seen this movie a few years down the line so we can more of a detached and holistic sense of the story (I had similar feelings on the movie W.). One of the aspects of the film I did enjoy was the fact that it's up to the audience to decide who was right, who was wrong, and who deserved justice the most in this story of backstabbing, lies, and deceit.

I enjoyed The Social Network, however, due to the feeling of rushed immediacy, the odd choices in lighting, and the questionable content regarding what actually happened, I feel that the film's depictions of the history of Zuckerberg and the characterizations of the characters should be taken with a grain of salt.

My rating: Low Full Price

Fun fact: My uncle was the CEO for the 'legal' Napster and actually hired Sean Parker back onto his team for a while.

Those are my two cents, although I would give a penny for your thoughts.

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