MOVIE REVIEW: “The Social Network” stars Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland, The End of the Tour), Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge, Spider-Man: No Way Home), Armie Hammer (The Lone Ranger (2013), Call Me By Your Name), Justin Timberlake (In Time, Trolls), Rooney Mara (A Ghost Story, Lion), Joseph Mazzello (Jurassic Park, Bohemian Rhapsody), Josh Pence (The Dark Knight Rises, Battleship [2012]), Max Minghella (The Handmaid’s Tale [TV series], Spiral), Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation [TV series], Celeste & Jesse Forever), John Getz (Blood Simple, The Fly), Denise Grayson (Puppet, Corn), Brenda Song (The Suite Life of Zack & Cody [TV series], Secret Obsession), and Dakota Johnson (Bad Times at the El Royale, Fifty Shades of Grey). It is directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, Gone Girl), with the screenplay being written by Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, Moneyball).

The story of Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg (Eisenberg), who navigates his turbulent relationships when he invents the most successful social media platform of all time.

Since proclaiming that I want to become a screenwriter, I’ve often been asked “have you seen ‘The Social Network.’” Apparently, it’s placed in high regard amongst the screenwriting community, and for the longest time I never took up the recommendation… until recently.

Of course, the film is written by none other than Aaron Sorkin, one of the most brilliant, masterful screenwriters working in the buis (and he’s been doing this for a long time). His dialogue is heavy and rich, with scenes that flow like butter. Actors have to recite all of the words on the page down to the intricately placed “um’s”. It’s wild, but man does this guy know how to make ordinary conversation sound like music.

It’s no surprise that I adored this flick. Everyone is firing on all cylinders, from the aforementioned writing to the fantastic direction to the wonderful performances to the non-linear editing. It’s such a tight, well-formulated tale about this man Mark Zuckerberg, with not much to gripe about. What I find to be most fascinating is how truly calculated it feels; you can tell the filmmakers were thorough in their process, and that was only proven by the hour and a half behind-the-scenes documentary I watched directly after (yep, I was that intrigued).

This isn’t a story about the invention of Facebook, but rather the trials that such a socially awkward man goes through despite creating the biggest social media platform of all time. It’s interesting, and the performances make it all the more engaging. I loved everyone in this, though I will say I was surprised by the casting choices. It’s a lot of young talent (at the time), with Jesse Eisenberg playing Mark and the rest of the cast being filled out by Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, Justin Timberlake (huh?), Brenda Song (from Disney Channel?), and Rashida Jones. They all killed it, so kudos to the casting director.

Obviously, I couldn’t write this review without mentioning the director. David Fincher is one of my favorites. His precision and tone are amazing. He’s helmed so many classic, highly-proclaimed pictures, but they arrived to that status because of him. Watching his method in the behind-the-scenes doc really intrigued me. The man is a filmmaker of a hundred takes for one scene; constantly having his actors perform sequences time after time after time until they can’t stand it anymore. The first scene of the movie took ninety-nine takes. Excuse me? While I’m not one to go over five typically, I commend the guy for going the distance and giving us a product worth studying (in the realm of film).

“The Social Network” is filmmaking at its finest. It’s a very interesting story that taps into the human condition more so than the social media machine that was derived from it. I enjoyed watching this, and would recommend anyone to give it a shot. You won’t be displeased. FINAL SCORE: 96%= Juicy Popcorn

This movie has been inducted into The Juicy Hall of Fame.

Here is the trailer: