The Writing Is on the Wall

MOVIE REVIEW
The Social Network (2010)

By M. TSAI

M. Tsai David Fincher: “The Social Network” is entertaining only because of Aaron Sorkin’s script, and even then in the most trivial sense. Besides your unmistakable visual vocabulary, you’ve brought little else to the film as a director. It pales in comparison to even your lesser works such as “The Game” and “Panic Room.” In fact, the whole thing is simply too brisk and lacks dramatic weight.

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M. Tsai Aaron Sorkin: There’s no shortage of admirers of your snappy dialogue, but it’s difficult to take anything you write too seriously. It’s fine when the subject is a presidency that no one would mistake for the real thing. But you continue to put Sorkinese in the mouths of your characters in “The Social Network” despite the fact that it’s the true story of the founding of Facebook. Nobody motormouths like that in real life.

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M. Tsai Tyler Winklevoss: Perhaps Facebook was really you and your brother’s brainchild. But you two are such spoiled brats, can you blame anyone for wanting to screw you over?

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M. Tsai Eduardo Saverin: You have our sympathies for getting a raw deal even though you co-founded Facebook, but who wouldn’t leave his or her best friends twisting in the wind the way Mark Zuckerberg did you while Justin Timberlake is bringing “SexyBack.” “Cry Me a River,” dude.

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M. Tsai Mark Zuckerberg: Wow, you’re the first casualty of the eventual American “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” You actually started Facebook so you can friend her? Hope you’ve realized by now that even billions of dollars can’t buy you love.

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M. Tsai Armie Hammer: Never mind what people say. You steal the show as the Winklevoss twins.

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M. Tsai Andrew Garfield: Shitty things keep happening to your characters — “Boy A,” “Red Riding,” “Never Let Me Go” and now Eduardo. Hopefully that won’t be the case in “Spider-Man.”

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M. Tsai Justin Timberlake: People have been buzzing about your performance as Napster founder Sean Parker, and it’s great. But we’re still waiting for that *NSYNC reunion.

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M. Tsai Jesse Eisenberg: How does it feel when people describe your character Mark Zuckerberg as an anti-social creep when you seem to be playing yourself?

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M. Tsai David Fincher: Sorry, not feeling “The Social Network.” The film keeps teasing at bigger themes when it’s really drivel. It’s as if you’re progressing backward and this is “Fight Club” in reverse.

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THE SOCIAL NETWORK

Opens on Oct. 1 in the United States and on Oct. 15 in Britain.

Directed by David Fincher; written by Aaron Sorkin, based on the book “The Accidental Billionaires,” by Ben Mezrich; director of photography, Jeff Cronenweth; edited by Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter; music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross; production designer, Donald Graham Burt; costumes by Jacqueline West; produced by Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Cean Chaffin; released by Columbia Pictures. Running time: 2 hours. This film is rated PG-13 by M.P.A.A. and 12A by B.B.F.C.

WITH: Jesse Eisenberg (Mark Zuckerberg), Andrew Garfield (Eduardo Saverin), Justin Timberlake (Sean Parker), Armie Hammer (Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss), Max Minghella (Divya Narendra), Josh Pence (Tyler Winklevoss), Rooney Mara (Erica Albright), Brenda Song (Christy), Rashida Jones (Marylin Delpy), John Getz (Sy), David Selby (Gage), Denise Grayson (Gretchen), Douglas Urbanski (Larry Summers), Aaron Sorkin (Ad Executive) and James Shanklin (Prince Albert).