Z/Web

When I first heard of this movie, I wasn’t interested. I am perhaps the only person on the planet who doesn’t use Facebook, has never used Facebook, and has zero interest in using Facebook. (In fact, the more I’ve learned about Facebook, the more I’m actually anti-Facebook instead of just being disinterested.) When I saw the trailers, my interest when from low to negative, as the trailers were just awful. Horrible music, weird, cheesy, and depressing. But then the critical buzz started. There’s Oscar talk, which I found bizarre. I finally decided I’d better see the film myself. It turns out, this is a really good movie. It’s hard to say if it’ll be a classic — a minor one, perhaps — because it’s so culturally and technologically relevant to this specific time period, but it’s incredibly well-written, dramatic, interesting, and thought-provoking. The biggest win for me was they didn’t dumb down the tech. Zuckerberg’s character actually talks tech like a real geek and though it was rapid, what he said seemed technically accurate to me. I had been dreading and expecting typical TV and movie tech fantasy (like on CSI when they zoom in a blurry security camera footage shot from across the street and magically enhance it to read a license plate in a window’s reflection). This was realistic. The film’s dialog is fantastic, with Zuckerberg spitting out lines like an ADD kid on speed. The third thing I liked is the way characters are portrayed with shades of gray: Zuckerberg is portrayed as flawed, socially impaired, brilliantly smart, naive, and a bit of a jerk, but he comes across as not that bad of a dude. (Mostly he seems young. Me saying that shows how old I’m getting!) It’s not just his character, either: all the characters in the film are real, with good and bad points, and they fight the stereotypes the media and our instincts likes to label these people with.

In terms of the story, while things are slightly convoluted by the jumping back and forth between “current” lawsuit depositions and the original events, it is an interesting story. I knew nothing about Facebook’s origins so this was fascinating. Who knows how much of it is true — but even the gist of the story, which I’m sure is mostly accurate — is worth knowing. What I learned is that it was Facebook’s original exclusivity that made so hot. (Ironically, that’s one of the things that makes me boycott the site. The fact that I have to join just to see my friends’ stuff is an anathema to me.) But I can see where that exclusivity — like a nightclub that only lets in the cool people — makes everyone crazy to join. In terms of innovation, that’s really all Facebook did differently than any other social networking site.

Another aspect of the film I liked, though I wish it had been elaborated more, is the theme of how fast money changes people. Facebook grew so big so fast and overnight had venture capitalists begging to give the company millions that it ruined lives and changed relationships. That’s fascinating stuff. While that theme is in this film, it’s really only hinted at, in part because Zuckerberg himself doesn’t seem to care much about money (he famously still lives like a college student, despite being the youngest billionaire in history).

I was really surprised at how much I liked this film. My brain still rebels at the idea of it being Oscar-worthy — but that’s mostly because the idea of a movie about Facebook seems so silly. (That could just be me, who thinks Facebook itself is trivial.) But certainly the writing, directing, and acting are all Oscar-caliber, so why not? Andrew Garfield is a standout in the acting category (as is just about everyone else) and I would love to see him win Best Supporting. Sorkin’s screenplay is also incredible. (I’m a huge fan of him as a writer, though I dislike his politics.) In the end, the only real flaw I can find in this is that it’s too timely. It’s relevant right now, while Facebook is new and relevant, but at the speed tech moves, will it feel quaint in just a few years? (Will Facebook even be in use in ten years?) In that regard, I urge you to see the film soon — before its relevancy expires.