I will be the first to admit that I plainly did not want to see this movie.
I thought it would be stupid, boring and would not captivate my attention for two whole hours of my life. I will be the first to admit that was I wrong.
Not only did “The Social Network” keep my attention with its quick paced plot, but the two hours seemed to fly by. When I saw the credits rolling I was sure it was a mistake.
The movie tells a presumably exaggerated story about the beginnings of Facebook, and how founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard grad and now the youngest billionaire in the world, got the idea. Zuckerberg is shown to be ruthless in his quest for popularity and fame, which is how he started Facebook.
Without spoiling too much, the audience learns that Zuckerberg did not get that idea on his own; he stole that “nugget of an idea” from three other students at Harvard, which leads to lawsuits and settlements in the millions.
The movie begins with the two lawsuits that Zuckerberg is facing and the plot flips throughout the film, jumping between the present and flash backs of when Zuckerberg and company crafted Facebook. It ends with Facebook having over 500 million members throughout the world.
In between, the movie is filled with awkward humor and exciting twists in the plot, explaining that the Facebook most of us use today started at Harvard University for only Harvard students, but quickly spread to other colleges across the country and throughout Europe. Within the next five years Facebook spread to people of all ages all around the world.
The movie captivates the audience with its weirdly funny humor and excellent acting performances by Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield and the rest of the cast. The film delivers as a biopic of this bittersweet true story of having millions of “friends” but ending up with none.
“The Social Network” was curiously addicting and mesmerizing. I found myself glued to the screen wanting to know more about the exciting and unexpected start of the social network that is today used by millions of people all over the world.
