Fincher has such a strong team working with him here, it is not surprising that the film is so brilliant. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin keeps the plot zipping along with dialogue that pops off the screen. Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake, and Andrew Garfield (the future spiderman by the way) all turn in great performances. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross contribute a highly memorable and original score and Kirk Baxter and Angus Ross edit the film with knives as sharp as the dialogue.
So alright, you know the movie is great, but what surprises me about the film is how much it hates facebook. For a film about the biggest website on the planet, Fincher clearly is telling us that we are shallow people for using it. In the film, main character Mark Zuckerberg, scorned by his girlfriend, goes online and exposes personal details about her and then creates the basis for facebook out of spite. As the film progresses the facebook or "social" network becomes a blackhole draining the happiness out of everyone involved. People lose money, love, sanity, and real friends all over this site that is supposed to connect us. Make no mistake, in Fincher's eyes, facebook is a dark and sinister thing.
He's probably right too, just take a look around. We are living in a time where social networks like facebook and twitter are supposed to be bringing us together, but in my view they are pushing us apart. Look no further than the recent tragedy at Rutgers, to see the the outcome of a "social" network at work. We are living in a time of tremendous and dangerous connectivity, and David Fincher and his excellent film are warning us of the dangers of it. I just hope that his red flag doesn't get lost in our status updates and tweets.
Stay tuned tomorrow as I tackle another "facebook" movie: Catfish
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