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Review – The Social Network

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010

I took my first trip to the cinema in months last night, donning my trusty Sonic the Hedgehog t-shirt for the geekiest film of the year. A film about a website. My mother must be so proud.

I’ve always been interested in stories of entrepreneurs, due to a heady mix of admiration and jealousy. I see myself as an ideas man but lacking that special something to make them happen. Forget Alan Sugar or Richard Branson, the internet has spawned a new generation of entrepreneurs where anything is possible. Along comes someone like Mark Zuckerberg, who creates a worldwide phenomenon in a matter of weeks. You can’t help admire the guy, especially when it dawns on you you’re three years his senior.

So anyway, knowing the basic story of Facebook I went into this film expecting exactly what I got. A dramatised version of events with a healthy dose of fiction and humour thrown in to spice things up.

The major question mark for me was the ending. Mark sits in front of Facebook refreshing a page hoping his ex-girlfriend will accept his friend request. The End. It’s a scene that no doubt meets with an uncomfortable acknowledgement for many, but ending the film with him pining for a girl who barely features in the plot was not satisfying. It felt almost anti-climatic, but what else could be expected? How else do you end a film about an entrepreneur and his product which is still flying? On that note, perhaps this type of film would be more interesting based on Boo.com, Napster or numerous other turbulent internet businesses from days of yore. But that wouldn’t have had the same broad appeal. The thing is with Facbook is whether you love it or love to hate it, you know it.

Jesse Eisenberg is impressive as the aloof detached Mark Zuckerberg while there’s an amusing part for Justin Timberlake as Napster founder Sean Parker, although the character grates very quickly. I was in my geeky element throughout the film, but I can’t help wonder if the lack of any real plot or action would seriously bore the pants off a “normal” person.

In conclusion, there are 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don’t. If that joke makes you laugh, you will love The Social Network. If you didn’t realise it was a joke, steer clear.