The Social Network | Teen Ink

The Social Network

February 20, 2011
By Carlin Coffey BRONZE, Columbus, Ohio
Carlin Coffey BRONZE, Columbus, Ohio
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Almost absolutely everyone is on Facebook nowadays. Although they may know how to do everything on the website, they may not know who and what went behind the making of the hugely successful site. From the witty dialogue, the perfect cast, the clothes, the music, and the techniques, The Social Network is an interesting and one of the must-see-movies of the year.

Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) is the main character as the socially inept co-creator of Facebook. The plot revolves around Zuckerberg being sued by two parties, his ex-best friend and the other co-founder, Eduardo Saverin [Andrew Garfield], and three boys who claimed Facebook was their idea, and what led Zuckerberg to the point of being sued. The movie starts in the time period which Zuckerberg is being sued and continues to flashback from the very beginning of Facebook’s creation until the flashbacks catchup with the “real” time setting.
Eisenberg’s portrayal as the witty and sometimes rude Zuckerberg is perfect and dramatic. The Winklevoss brothers are flawlessly casted. Their acting and their appearances were dead-on and they added a lot of comic relief. Going into the movie, I had the perception that Justin Timberlake was in the movie only to add a celebrity for press purposes. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Since Timberlake adds so much charisma to his character, viewer’s will become highly interested in his role.

The Social Network was originally going to be extremely long so the producers asked the actors to speak faster as to make the film shorter. Although at times it was a little fast, I thought almost all of it was understandable. I think they could have slowed down some scenes by cutting or speeding up the pans. There were multiple quite long pan-outs which could have been shortened. This makes this PG-13 movie move along quickly so if you prefer fast-paced storylines, this movie is one you should see.
The costume portrayal can be described as brilliant and very telling. The actual Mark Zuckerberg himself even said that they got his clothing right. While the jocks looked dapper and athletic, the “nerds” would wear casual hoodies and jeans most of the time. This characterization was non-verbal and an intriguing technique for the movie. Like costuming, the movie’s music helped the movie flow and indirectly showed the mood of the scenes. At the parties and clubs, there is already music in the background, but the intense moments—especially those slow pan-outs—are paired together which heightens the drama to a new level.
All-in-all, The Social Network is a quality movie which I would recommend. It offers an interesting plot, design, and insight into a website billions of people use. The witty script and dynamic cast make the movie fantastically entertaining and one of the must-see’s of the year.


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