The movie's biggest scene-stealers are Timberlake - who's all slimy and paranoid charm as Parker - and the Winklevoss brothers, who are played by Hammer so well that you'd swear it was twin actors. In many ways, he's the heart of the movie, because his character is so much more likable than Zuckerberg - so much so that you want him to win his lawsuit against Facebook. He exudes the confidence that comes with wealthy, but unlike Zuckerberg or the Winklevoss twins, he's not condescending. How many multibillion dollar ideas started out as a way to show up someone who rejected the innovator? And how many business are built on the backs of broken friendships? As Saverin, British import Garfield is pitch perfect. He's a huge jerk - or, as his date tells him in the first scene, a first-class "a-hole" - obsessed with status and, later, getting back at said date for rejecting him. And the credit must go to director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin, who've taken what sounds like a very boring premise - boy genius possibly steals an idea to create one of the dominating media forces of the decade - and turned it into an award-worthy film that even Facebook objectors will enjoy.Įisenberg plays Zuckerberg as a socially awkward computer genius who isn't an adorable geek (like many of Eisenberg's previous roles).
If a story about a business' Ivy League founders or Harvard social intrigue or young billionaires in the making doesn't sound compelling, this movie will surprise you. This is truly an enthralling film all of the pieces - writing, plot, direction, acting, soundtrack - create a memorable, timely movie that couldn't be more relevant to the current zeitgeist. There was a lot of pre-release hype for THE SOCIAL NETWORK - and for once, the buzz is well-deserved. In the process, Zuckerberg faces lawsuits from his Harvard rivals and his former best friend. After the site hits Stanford, Zuckerberg and Saverin meet Napster co-founder Sean Parker ( Justin Timberlake), who ingratiates himself into the founders' circle, usurps Saverin, and helps Zuckerberg get the funds to transform "thefacebook" into Facebook. But instead of working on the Harvard-only site, Zuckerberg asks Saverin to front him the start-up costs to launch what they call "thefacebook," which starts at Harvard but eventually spreads to other elite universities across the country. It gets the attention of rich, entrepreneurial seniors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss (both played by Armie Hammer) and their business partner, who hire Zuckerberg to create a social networking site for Harvard students. In his sophomore year at Harvard, computer-science genius Mark Zuckerberg ( Jesse Eisenberg) and his best friend, Eduardo Saverin ( Andrew Garfield), create a site ranking their female classmates' hotness.