The Social Network has been relentlessly billed as a film about Facebook. The biggest surprise of the film might be that the iconic social networking program is so peripheral to the story. Facebook lurks in the shadows here – it’s essentially a McGuffin.
There are a lot of reasons why TSN shouldn’t work. It’s a resolutely uncinematic story where most of the action takes place in a deposition room. It’s a story where no one gets what they want, and no one emerges the wiser for their travails. Our protagonists may indeed be sadder, but at movie’s end they are no closer to completing the hero’s journey than they were 90 minutes ago.
Possibly worst of all, Jesse Eisenberg (who I’ve liked since the criminally slept-on Roger Dodger) has decided to play Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg as a sort of Rain Man character. Everyone who’s seen Zuckerberg speaking in public is aware that he’s a smart, awkward and vaguely hostile character, but these are not unique traits in his chosen field of endeavor. In fact, Zuckerberg probably gets on with a camera better than most of his contemporaries. He’s a little cringey, but not crippled. Eisenberg’s overplaying does set up a few really great punchlines, but it obscures the yearning and confusion at the core of the tale. We’re not supposed to hate Gatsby.
Despite all that, the film turned out pretty well. Sorkin’s dialogue makes the courtroom procedural parts of the film crackle, and there is an undeniable Nerd Entourage feeling when the gang heads to the West Coast that I must admit enjoying.
Sorkin has gone out of his way to say that he was writing a story, not attempting any kind of accurate reportage so quibbles about accuracy are probably beside the point. It’s the right choice, because an accurate depiction of the birth of a web app would be stupefyingly dull.
I recommend it. It’s a well shot, well crafted film that creates a pleasing imaginary origin story for our social media culture. As with all creation myths, it’s not important what’s true – it’s important that the story is useful and instructive. Go ahead and see it.
