The Social Network * * * *

Being a Facebook hound and film buff, how could I not go to see David Fincher's film based on the book "The Accidental Billionaires", by Ben Mesrich, a story loosely based on the Mark Zuckerberg drama, the founding of Facebook, and (a couple of) the lawsuits that resulted from its conception.  Amusingly ironic as it was to find myself switching my phone back on and checking for messages, comments and likes even as the initial closing credits were sliding down the big screen, my substantial effort to switch it off during the show rather than just silence it (and give myself the option to check it occasionally during the film!) made me feel suitably in control of my addiction to get an immediate fix thereafter, guilt free, especially when I saw that everybody else was doing the same.  I promptly posted a new status about the film and waited for comments. 

The film was great and anybody wanting to slate it for using artistic licence or being inaccurate here and there (yes, usually me, aggressively, i.e. Alexander[crap], Braveheart[crap] etc) note that it is based on the book and doesn't pretend to be other than a fun story.  That being said, it is not wholly inaccurate in terms of a lot of the major events that are recorded.  Jesse Eisenberg is excellent as Zucherberg (again whether accurate or not), the super-intelligent but socially restricted hacker who is "not an asshole", but is "trying so hard to be".  He is helped by a great script, very amusing in parts, intelligent and sharp, which give him some great cocky ripostes with which he savagely cuts down his outclassed examiners during the depositions with opposing council.  The rest of the cast are great too, including Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, the entrepreneur and one of Zucherberg's partners.  I cannot stress this enough - Justin Timberlake, you can act.  Do it again.  Fill your time with it.  Stop singing.  Stop.  Seriously.

Considering the film's story is told with the backdrop of Harvard life, computing/hacking and lawsuit depositions Fincher has got the balance just right.  Let's face it, this could have been a very boring film, and with a lesser talent too much could have been made of the love story, or rather the one way obsession Zuckerberg has for his ex-girlfriend Erica, with which the film begins and ends, and which we are drip fed throughout as one of - if not the - motivating factor for Zucherberg's expansion of the site.  The irony of Zucherberg's master creation being a method of connecting with friends is not lost on us, as we see him disconnected throughout the film from his girlfriend Erica, from the coveted elite final clubs at Harvard, and from his one and only real friend, his Harvard room mate and partner, Eduardo.  The final scene sees him send a Facebook friend request, to Erica's profile page, then sit and click the refresh button over and over.  As it is, unrequited love is one of many pillars on which the film stands, rather than its only support, along with good direction, a smart script, solid acting, interesting characters and good pace.