The Social Network

I'm going to admit that I went into this movie with mixed expectations. On the one hand, it's gotten a positive review from literally every single person I've spoken to except my younger brother – who doesn't like anything. That's fairly high praise, even considering that Metacritic and Rotton Tomatos both give it an unbelievably high rating. That said, it is a movie about Facebook, so I did go in with some trepidation.

The movie has a very distinct and lethargic feel to it. For a film that's supposedly about this hip new thing, they make a point of not overstating anything, and just letting the movie ride. I think that all the performances were solid, at the very least. As much as I hate to admit it, Justin Timberlake as the disgraced creator of Napster probably was the strongest. He just played the role with this uncharacteristic sense of desire and need and urgency that the rest of the movie lacked. It set him apart, which is fitting, because he was the outsider of the group.

Zuckerburg's character is an interesting one. He seems to alternate between a passive couch potato and a near-manic level of genius. His social anxieties come from his bluntness, yes, but this is one of the first times I've actually felt lost listening to a character speak. In the opening scene, when he's speaking to his (soon-to-be-ex)girlfriend, she has the same trouble that I did – tracking his trains of thought to make sure that I was on the right one. It was a great portrayal of genius, and it left him a completely alienated character that gives context to the rest of his actions.

Now, my main criticism of the movie is not the characterization, or even the plot, but rather, the plot's structure. People are used to flashback-frame stories. It's a device that I love using in my own writing. It gives us a knowledge of where we're headed, so that everything going on points us towards that inevitable conclusion.

The Social Network tried to complicate that simple formula and failed. The frame in this story is the future trial of the protagonist against the pretentious Harvard crew-rowers as well as the trial between him and his friend and CFO. I don't mind this, but jumping from one trial to another constantly – with both of them being in very similar rooms – was jarring. Trying to figure out which scene was which was by far the most taxing part of the movie, and I don't think they honestly gained anything by doing it.

Overall, the Social Network was a good movie - especially given it's initial premise. Despite good acting, it was sadly lacking in some simple cinematic choices, and I think that it damaged the movie overall. If the directors had stuck to a slightly more standard fare – or perhaps differentiated the two frames from each other a little more (or even provided us some context for travel between one trial and the other) then I could have enjoyed the movie far more than I did. As is, it struck slightly above average.

I'll respectfully give it a 3/5 and call it a night.