Early Movie Review: David Fincher’s The Social Network
Before my film festival trip began, I was lucky enough to be invited to a sneak preview ofDavid Fincher’s latest filmThe Social Network. I’ve been embargoed not to talk about the screening… until now.
The cut we saw was not the final version, as a few sequences still required color correction and the music wasn’t completely finished. But the movie was in the final cut stages, and had just undergone MPAA cuts, clocking in at just over two hours in length (which, yes, is short for a Fincher film). This included a new sequence Fincher shot during additional photography, which uses an effect simular to Tilt/shift photography — again, Fincher does something you’ve never seen before on the big screen.
The Social Network is Fincher’s best film since Fight Club, which is saying a lot considering I LOVED Zodiac. It is also my favorite movie of the year (so far). The razor-sharp rapid-fire dialogue inAaron Sorkin’s screenplay will likely draw comparisons to quotable films likeWallstreetandGlengarry Glen Ross. After returning home from the screening, I was tempted to read the screenplay — that’s how good it is.
The film is incredibly well edited and rarely stays in a location for more than a minute, cutting back and forth between locations and timelines. Just like the dialogue, it is a great representation of our current add culture. It also takes a story that most of you probably know and makes it as compelling as a story you’ve never heard it before.
Jessie Eisenbergperfectly captures the awkward and impassive qualities of Mark Zuckerberg.Andrew Garfieldwill win audiences over, andRooney Mara(who I’ve been unimpressed with thus far) finally shows us why she was cast as the lead in Fincher’s next film. Fincher employs some seamless digital trickery that you probably won’t notice on your first viewing (my mind was completely blown when I found out after the screening).
I recorded an audio blog with Steve fromCollidertalking about our reaction to the film. Listen to it now below:
