"The Social Network" (2010)

Dwight Dekeyser rating:  AAA

Dear Reader:

An historic moment – my first review of an AAA Dwight Dekeyser-rated movie!  (Deep breath.)  I hardly know where to begin.  This is an exciting intelligent movie for adults, so youth-oriented it will appeal to their college and high school kids.  The movie is a screen adaption of the fascinating true story of the founding of Facebook, and the ensuing fight for its credit and control.  This could have been the dullest movie ever: computer geeks and corporate litigation are unlikely topics of interest for most people unless algorithms and depositions are your preference.  What made this movie so exhilarating was its pace: the thrill of discovery, the edge of competition, its attractive characters, and glamorous settings.  This movie takes you places. (Ever been sculling with HSH Prince Albert of Monaco?)

The Social Network is in many ways a sophisticated Animal House (1978) for the online generation.  As the National Lampoon (1970) magazine was spawned at Harvard, so it appears, was Facebook, the internet social network.  The movie exposes aspects of undergraduate life from this hallowed Ivy League institution you may not have known existed.  It’s not something one would read in the college catalogue.  This place knows how to party!   The movie has the computer geeks go to some of the most exclusive, swank, get-down-and-dirty “socials” you have ever seen with some of the hottest boys and girls in higher education.   In fact, much of the success of the movie is the succession of fun and frisky parties that never get repetitious.  These geeks know how to live!

As Facebook became a tsunami success, the law suits began in what became the equivalent of Harvard Brat v. Harvard Brat.  What was unusual in this movie was the use of dramatic testimony given in depositions (pretrial discovery conferences under oath) and not the typical trial setting.  The reason, of course, is these law suits never made it to trial as they were settled out of court.  Nevertheless, the deposition scenes were gripping and emotional as these bright young men detailed the theft of their ideas and the betrayal of their friendships.  The law firm scenes provided a stark and sober contrast to the insouciant undergraduate bacchanals.  The intense and often personal interrogation of the youthful litigants by opposing counsel provided high drama and in the process presented an interesting legal issue in deciding the ownership of Facebook: how does one determine the contribution an individual makes to a business enterprise that was generated through the free exchange of ideas with co-creators?

The acting in The Social Network was universally outstanding, as the actors were cast to perfection.  Three actors (or four depending upon how you count) struck me as particularly noteworthy.  The male lead Jesse Eisenberg portrayed Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook.  He was so authentic a character, it never occurred to me he was not the real person.  While there was no “star quality” or charisma  in his performance, per se, Eisenberg's acting went beyond credibility; it was actual being -- an achievement not to be ignored.  

Arnie Hammer played a double roll as the uber-preppy (Neidermeyer?) identical twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.  I was unaware of this Patty Duke Show (1963) deception until I read the credits.  (I was disappointed to learn there were not two of him, but I have come to accept it.)  The grandson of industrialist Armand Hammer (is there no justice in this world?) is what I call old-Hollywood handsome -- he is a real knock out.  It is not simply his beauty that makes his performance so noteworthy, but the fact that he is so appealing in every way.  He is the type of leading man “all woman want to have and all men want to be” – without resentment.  He could be the next James Bond: stirred, not shaken this time.

A pleasant surprise was the performance of Justin Timberlake.  I never thought of him as appealing in any capacity, but I must admit he made a favorable impression as a legitimate actor.  I thought I detected a little Dennis Hopper in his approach to the role.  He had a certain look that I thought projected his character like a Greek mask.  ("We didn't need dialogue then, we had faces!"  Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, 1950.)  One scene I thoroughly enjoyed was at a California night club where the panning disco lights changed the color of his pale pallor from one gaudy hue to another, a reflection of his mercurial temperament.  It reminded me of “The Joker” from Batman (1966), BAM! POW!

Here's the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB95KLmpLR4

From the vault:  Animal House (1978), directed by John Landis, staring John Belushi, Tom Hulce, and Kevin Bacon.  College movies, it seems, have come along way.  This timeless coming of age comedy had more truth than fiction to it for the times.  It is also one of the most quoted films.  Dean Wormer to Flounder, “Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go though life, son.”  Ouch!  (The dean at Harvard wasn't much nicer.)

Best of luck in your movie selections, your faithful friend,

Dwight Dekeyser

© 2010 Dwight Dekeyser, Esq.  All rights reserved.