Seth Lamey
A few times a decade, the stars align and cinematic forces collide to create art and entertainment that reflects the current times. In 2010, this happened with the release of The Social Network. Upon reflection 15 years later, the David Fincher drama still pierces the zeitgeist of cinematic culture, both upon its 2010 release and in its impact since. The film caught Fincher during his late 2000s period of rejuvenation, and its topical adaptation of Ben Mezrich’s 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires by Aaron Sorkin proved perfect subject matter for Fincher’s technical prowess.
While not as accurate as its real-life counterparts claim, the film is still an exciting and prickly depiction of the rise of Mark Zuckerberg and the social media platform that came to be Facebook. Fincher’s precise eye gets the most out of Sorkin’s script, and with a superb cast & crew, The Social Network became cemented as one of the best films of the new century. Highlighting the aggressive expansion of global social media at the time of its making, The Social Network also ominously predicted the effects of such power in a newly digital political and social ecosystem.
The buzz for The Social Network in the spring of 2010 was palpable. Here was a film focusing on the story of the rise of one of the most powerful social platforms on the internet, one which initially started as college- and high school-exclusive, but by the film’s release was open to everyone. The marketing slogan for the film said, “You don’t get 500 million friends without making a few enemies.” It had a gripping trailer, soundtracked by a choral cover of the Radiohead song “Creep,” which promised a hard-hitting examination of Facebook’s rags-to-riches beginnings.
Filmmaker David Fincher was coming off cerebral psycho-thriller Zodiac and awards darling drama The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The director, known for visceral 1990s thrillers and social satire in Se7en and Fight Club, paired his technical skill witthaffinity for darker storytelling in a new digital age. Fincher and cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth would use the newly minted “Red One” digital cameras to compose clean and crisp new-age cinematography. Digital filmmaking also lent logistical leeway to the infamously meticulous Fincher, who reportedly shot the opening sequence 100 times.
Aaron Sorkin’s adapted screenplay proved the perfect complement to Fincher’s relentless, propulsive energy, and the cast collectively took to the snappy dialogue evocative of a computer-obsessed world. Jesse Eisenberg as the lead, Mark Zuckerberg, projects the intellectual and snarky personality Fincher and Sorkin required. Eisenberg’s performance oscillates between arrogance, intelligence, and vulnerability, and without it, The Social Network would not be the juggernaut of melodramatic filmmaking it is.
Playing off Zuckerberg is a sharp millennial acting ensemble. Andrew Garfield plays Eduardo Saverin, one of the few likeable characters in Zuckerberg’s inner circle. Sorkin sets the story up in flashback form, with dueling lawsuit depositions recanting the creation of Facebook. One deposition pits Zuckerberg against the twin Winklevoss brothers (played by Armie Hammer and Josh Pence), fellow Harvard students who believe Zuckerberg stole their idea and created the social media giant Facebook. Zuckerberg is also tied up in a litigious battle with his former best friend Saverin, in what the audience sees in the film climax as a heartbreaking act of miscommunication and betrayal between the two. Fincher and Sorkin unleash Eisenberg’s Zuckerberg at the Winklevoss twins in a few moments of quippy banter, while Zuckerberg also gives a piece of his mind to lawyers refereeing the fight. The best scene of dramatic tension and flare-up comes between Eisenberg and Garfield at the new offices of Facebook, as Eduardo Saverin realizes he’s been squeezed out as company CFO by Zuckerberg with the needling help of angel investors Peter Thiel and Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake).
Fincher and his collaborators- are all at the top of their skills in The Social Network. The shot-reverse-shot of the opening scene at a pub near Harvard shows Sorkin’s fast-talking dialogue flowing through Eisenberg and then-girlfriend of Zuckerberg, Erica Albright (Rooney Mara). His Oscar-winning script would be tied together by Oscar-winning editing by Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter. The Fincher collaborators tightly tied together and cut all the shots and scenes of The Social Network with a sharp vibrancy expected in a David Fincher film. A first watch of The Social Network can be a bit jarring, finding one’s bearings in the story with all the cross-cutting of scenes taking place in the past and in modern courtrooms, but it all comes together nicely in the end and upon reflection. One of the biggest collaboration notes from both 2010 and 15 years later is the absolutely electric Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross musical score. The Nine Inch Nails frontman man Reznor brings a high energy and brooding score to a drama about coding and disputes between college entrepreneurs. Reznor and Ross would go on to score the films for every Fincher film since.
The Social Network was a mega hit both commercially and critically, earning more than $225 million worldwide and was #1 on numerous critics’ top films of 2010 lists, including the National Board of Review. It won best drama film at the Golden Globes and seemed a juggernaut headed into the Academy Awards, with eight nominations. Sorkin won for Best Adapted Screenplay, Wall and Baxter won for Best Editing, Reznor and Ross won for Best Musical Score. The film and Fincher lost out on Best Picture to Tom Hooper for his film The King’s Speech. Many at the time were confused by the upset, and 15 years later, it has only grown more head-scratching. The legacy of The Social Network has only grown more in the film lexicon, and it clocked in as #27 on Indiewire’s “Top 100 films of the century” list.
The success of the film set Fincher on a path of more adaptations in the 2010s. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl would reunite him with many of his key collaborators behind the camera, and tell more stylish Neo-Noir stories more accustomed to his 1990s period, but with his updated modern digital pastiche. After signing a deal with streamer Netflix for a long-form passion project, Mindhunter, he has since released films Mank and The Killer on their platforms. While still making well-made films, I think he’s boxed himself into the Netflix-only box too deeply. His collaboration with Quentin Tarantino for a sequel to the latter’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is currently filming, so hope is still there. Eisenberg and Garfield dabbled in the superhero genre in the 2010s, with Eisenberg now moving into the director’s chair and Garfield taking up prestigious dramatic work with Mel Gibson and Martin Scorsese.
The film shows off Fincher’s talent as a technician, with the Henley boat race acting as a metaphorical stand-in for the race the Winklevoss are losing to Zuckerberg. This polished kinetic energy tickles the senses, but it’s the drama in between that glues it all together. The legacy of The Social Network is both static and evolving, much like the world around the technology depicted on screen. Fincher and his talented effects team created one Winklevoss twin by using Josh Pence as a physical stand-in and digitally copying Armie Hammer’s face onto him. The flawless digital effect works very well, but also signals a trying time for truth and transparency headed into a digital world dominated by social media and AI. For all the talky and showy flair of the film-makers, the drama and on-screen performances stick the landing.
A sequel to the film, titled The Social Reckoning, is on the horizon, with Sorkin taking on directing this time and starring Jeremy Strong as Zuckerberg. With Sorkin being the only tie to the original film, the new project has dubious buzz and a wait-and-see anxiety about it. Social media, Facebook, and Zuckerberg have had a tumultuous evolution since the mid-2000s, when the first film was set. Scrutiny for data mining, misinformation, and election interference around the globe, as well as Zuckerberg’s hand in global politics as an influential billionaire, have clouded his and Facebook’s legacy. Mark Zuckerberg has been called before Congress in 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2024 to speak about his company’s practices of handling user data and their ethical standards for handling hate speech and misinformation spread. Facebook, Google, and Twitter were all criticized at the time for their roles in spreading misinformation about COVID, the 2020 election, and the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. capitol. In 2020, Netflix released a documentary titled “The Social Dilemma”, exposing tricks and tools social media platforms like Facebook execute through algorithmic means to keep users clicking and scrolling. This hyper-fixation on using information to trigger dopamine rushes and centering hate and fear centers leaves users unable to process the effects of social media, and the emphasis on isolation and desolation strays far from the initial goal of the Mark Zuckerberg from The Social Network.
The Social Network was a slice-of-life story that shows the rise of a billionaire in America, not too different from Citizen Kane or Steve Jobs, and highlights the dangers of what it costs to rise so high. While showing characters who talk like computers or act coldly, the film still shows the heartbreaking trampling of personal relationships in Zuckerberg’s life. His desire to impress and achieve status in “final clubs” at Harvard manifested itself into a global social binding of his own creation, and along the way, he let his carelessness with ethics let the Winklevoss twins latch on for a piece of the intellectual pie and forget the partnership with his dear friend Eduardo.
The ending shows Zuckerberg, the world’s youngest billionaire, alone and hoping his ex-girlfriend will “befriend” him on his own platform. The Beatles’ “Baby You’re a Rich Man” plays as Zuckerberg’s longing grows and settlement info from his lawsuits is displayed on-screen. Fincher and Sorkin end their two-hour drama-de-force with a biting cautionary tale for the overly ambitious in this world: beware what you wish for.
In retrospect, The Social Network is one of the best films of its time, a practice in exciting and well-executed storytelling conveying the turmoil-filled legacy of Facebook and other social media platforms. As such, the film depicts a “calm before the storm” moment in time. Its performances, through Sorkin’s writing and Fincher’s direction, are top-notch for an American drama. The editing and musical score also rightfully deserve the acclaim they received. It’s a shame Fincher wasn’t awarded for what is arguably his best film, but in the court of public opinion, the film’s legacy is secure.
