The Social Network- A Film Review

Ever since The Social Network got the reputation of being “the film that defines a generation”, people seem to treat it as an epic tragedy that is an instant classic. While this is an arguable opinion, they seem to miss an important aspect of the film. If you forget about all the hype surrounding the film and see the film for what it is, you will notice two things. Not only will you see that The Social Network is a great film, but you will also notice that the film is more of a low-concept crime drama than an epic tragedy.

The first thing the audience will notice in the film is how all the actors spit their dialogue at an incredibly fast pace. This may seem unrealistic at first. However, you quickly learn that not only is this acting style needed to get through the ridiculous amount of dialogue in this film, but that this style adds a certain old Hollywood charm that makes the contemporary story feel classic.

That being said, this dialogue style couldn’t have worked without a good cast and crew. Luckily, the film has the best cast imaginable, a legendary director, and a screenwriter that is so talented that it’s sickening. Jesse Eisenberg plays Zuckerberg brilliantly, and the supporting cast keep up with his performance with relative ease. The direction, camerawork, and editing are impeccably done, yet the viewer will barely notice these aspects because they will be so engaged by the story/screenplay itself. The script is as engaging and entertaining as it is complex and well written, making it a screenplay brimming with pure virtuosity and style.

At its simplest, the film is about the true story behind the invention of Facebook. However, it is where the film goes in between the factual events that really make the film. The Social Network’s story-arc is very similar to the story-arc in the 1983 crime drama classic Scarface. They are both about socially inept men who start out at their lowest point before finding their true calling in life. This calling leads them both to fame and fortune, yet they both still have unresolved issues that torture them. The men soon betray their true friends, which lead both men to their inevitable downfall. The only differences in these story-arcs are the endings and that Mark Zuckerberg was a programmer instead of a criminal. This crime drama structure creates drama out of an otherwise dry topic, making the film thrilling as well as intellectually stimulating.

While The Social Network may not be “the film that defines a generation”, it never seems to want to be that film. It is a complex story about a boy becoming a billionaire on accident, and that’s all it tries to be. It doesn’t try to speak for a generation, nor is Fincher trying to be the next John Hughes. The film is just a story about interesting characters that represent no one but their real life counterparts. This straightforward storytelling is what makes The Social Network easily one of the best films of the year, and why it could one day become a modern classic.

PS: I couldn't get the indentation to work right, so I apologize for the paragraph formatting. Why is it so hard to indent on this website? I really have no clue.