The Social Networking (2010)

This is one movie that anyone using FaceBook or any other social sites should certainly not miss out. It shows how a great idea coupled with fine execution results, in a runaway success, along in the way you are sure to earn enemies. I have been waiting for the release of this movie “The Social Networking”. It is good to have the movie released in India just after its US release last month. Having decided suddenly we couldn’t get tickets in INOX or Satyam, so we went for this movie with our friends at Mayajaal. The movie showed in the new Screen 12 at Mayajaal which has a bigger screen than their other screens. I was not sure whether my wife will like the movie if it becomes documentary like or too technical, but the movie was enjoyed by all of us.

The movie is about the founding years of FaceBook.com. What makes the movie interesting is the way the story is told. Instead of telling the sequence of events, the Director throughout the film shows Mark Zuckerberg testifying in depositions in two lawsuits: one filed by the Winklevoss twins (his seniors in Harvard who claimed to have come with the idea first), and the other filed by Eduardo (his friend at Harvard and co-founder). This technique of showing the present-day lawsuit and flash-back scenes make the movie fast-paced and captivating.  All the actors in the film have done a great job in portraying the living characters they have taken, especially Jesse Eisenberg who portrays Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew Garfield who plays Eduardo Saverin and Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker (Founder of Napster) have done a superb job.

After seeing the movie I was reminded of the book I read last year (Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good). Immediately I went back to my library and read again the chapter on FaceBook – I was able to enjoy it now more than the first time.