The Social Network

The Social Network vividly dramatizes the invention of Facebook by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, and all the chaos that followed, including two lawsuits from his former collaborators. "Finally," you are probably saying to yourself, "a blockbuster Hollywood film about brilliant computer programmers sitting around talking!" Well, it's to the tremendous credit of director David Fincher and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin that this eruditely chatty film is, above all else, wonderfully entertaining. Sure, it has that "Aaron Sorkin" problem, where all the characters speak in essentially the same rapid-fire, snarkily intelligent manner, seemingly voicing their every fleeting thought, but this script is probably the cleverest thing Sorkin's ever written, and Fincher's cast performs it with witty aplomb. For his part, Fincher creates a surprisingly somber atmosphere for what is basically the story of one young genius's lonely road to success. The droning minor chords of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's score effectively add to the cynical, despairing tone of the film, giving the whole project a gravitas that the narrative doesn't quite seem to merit. Enjoyable though it may be, The Social Network nearly matches its varied protagonists in its shallowness. It's brimming with smart, sharp-witted characters telling each other amusing things, but it comes off more as a clever set of algorithms than a true connection to other human beings.