The Social Network: 3.5 stars

IMDB's summary states, "The story of how the social-networking website Facebook was founded."
The Social Network is not the story of how Facebook was founded; it is the story of why there are so many lawsuits surrounding the website. You may have read elsewhere that The Social Network is the story about how Facebook was created, or simply the Facebook movie, but it is much more specific than that. While we learn in general terms how the website was created, and are given the fictional motivation of said creation (note: there is no Erica in real life), The Social Network is more about the cons of fame and unfortunate drama it can create for those it touches.

The Social Network is directed by David Fincher, so you already know its technically outstanding. Even though he has used different cinematographers throughout his career his films always have similar photography. If you like/love the look of his previous films then you'll like/love that about this one. There is a reason why The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a Criterion Collection film, and it's not because of the story. I can see The Social Network ending up in that collection one day as well. Not only for it's technological brilliance but also for what it represents; for it's place in time.

Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) is the centerpiece of a script which tells the story of how he created Facebook, and was then accused of stealing the idea. The writers do this by presenting the story of two separate present day depositions and using flashbacks to delve deeper into what is being examined in those depositions. Zuckerberg was not only sued by the people who accused him of stealing the idea, but also his best friend and original CFO Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) for fiendishly cheating him out of his fair share of the business.

As I noted in my introductory paragraph, The Social Network is definitely more about the lawsuits, missteps and backstabbing that occurred during and not actual the creation of Facebook. There are many different films that could have been created out of this scenario. What we end up with is definitely strong, however not as engaging as it could have, or should have been. It's a fascinating story and Eisenberg's representation and performance of Zuckerberg is outstanding, however Fincher's obsession with technical excellence once again leaves the viewers at arms length and results in a frigid product. It definitely works more with this story then it did with Benjamin Button because of how ruthless and emotionless The Social Network's main character is portrayed. While the sterile presentation fits the subject matter it can definitely be a turn off to some. It wasn't for me, but it was definitely what kept the film from being perfect. David Fincher may need to revisit his own work in Seven for inspiration on future projects.