Movie of the Year
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I can't imagine I'll see a better movie all year than The Social Network, David Fincher's film about the founders of Facebook.
The story: fascinating. The acting: great. But it's the direction that is extraordinary. When I first saw the trailer for the movie two or three months ago, a dreamy concept piece, I thought that the movie couldn't possibly live up to it. A trailer can be arty and conceptual, but a movie has to tell its story.
But David Fincher is one of those rare directors who really, really work at the visual component of their art---not just to make the cinematography beautiful or edgy or whatever adjective they're going for. Every shot is thought through and creatively conceived, not just drawn from a repetoire and dropped in place.
One of my favorite scenes is about halfway through, when the Winklevoss brothers are rowing in a race: Their physicality contrasts with the dissolution and head-fulness of the Facebook guys; the way the brothers are pushing so hard and just cross the finish line a second too late. Yes, it's a great metaphor; it works just to write it. But Fincher films it, and in such a way that you feel the effort, the exhaustion, and the heartbreaking nature of the near miss. And yet, and yet, they're dicking around with boats while the FB guys are living and breathing their work.
And right there you have a prime example of how Fincher includes within the narratives all sides, even contradictory sides, of the story. Sean Parker, the found of Napster who eventually joins the FB leadership, is both insightful and obtuse. Mark Zuckerburg, defending his right to the social network profits against the Winklevoss brothers (who first brought him the idea), is both right and wrong when he says, "If you had invented Facebook, you'd be the inventors of Facebook." And when the movie ends with a shot of Zuckerberg repeatedly refreshing the page of his old girlfriend to see if she's accepted his friend request, you see, in that simple screen shot, the potential for connection that FB provides and the essentially empty nature of it.
If there's one weakness in the movie, it's probably Justin Timberlake in his role as Sean Parker. He's not bad, but appearing alongside the other actors there's a level of authenticity missing. It feels a bit like he's pretending to be the character. Which he is, but you're not supposed to notice. Jay said, "Well, he's pretty good for not being an actor." But I kind of wish they had just hired an actor.
David Fincher also directed Fight Club, a great movie, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which I loathed. Button aside, I think he'll do a great job with American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The actor he cast as Lisbeth Salander, Rooney Mara, was in The Social Network as well, and she looks promising.
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I can't imagine I'll see a better movie all year than The Social Network, David Fincher's film about the founders of Facebook.
The story: fascinating. The acting: great. But it's the direction that is extraordinary. When I first saw the trailer for the movie two or three months ago, a dreamy concept piece, I thought that the movie couldn't possibly live up to it. A trailer can be arty and conceptual, but a movie has to tell its story.
But David Fincher is one of those rare directors who really, really work at the visual component of their art---not just to make the cinematography beautiful or edgy or whatever adjective they're going for. Every shot is thought through and creatively conceived, not just drawn from a repetoire and dropped in place.
One of my favorite scenes is about halfway through, when the Winklevoss brothers are rowing in a race: Their physicality contrasts with the dissolution and head-fulness of the Facebook guys; the way the brothers are pushing so hard and just cross the finish line a second too late. Yes, it's a great metaphor; it works just to write it. But Fincher films it, and in such a way that you feel the effort, the exhaustion, and the heartbreaking nature of the near miss. And yet, and yet, they're dicking around with boats while the FB guys are living and breathing their work.
And right there you have a prime example of how Fincher includes within the narratives all sides, even contradictory sides, of the story. Sean Parker, the found of Napster who eventually joins the FB leadership, is both insightful and obtuse. Mark Zuckerburg, defending his right to the social network profits against the Winklevoss brothers (who first brought him the idea), is both right and wrong when he says, "If you had invented Facebook, you'd be the inventors of Facebook." And when the movie ends with a shot of Zuckerberg repeatedly refreshing the page of his old girlfriend to see if she's accepted his friend request, you see, in that simple screen shot, the potential for connection that FB provides and the essentially empty nature of it.
If there's one weakness in the movie, it's probably Justin Timberlake in his role as Sean Parker. He's not bad, but appearing alongside the other actors there's a level of authenticity missing. It feels a bit like he's pretending to be the character. Which he is, but you're not supposed to notice. Jay said, "Well, he's pretty good for not being an actor." But I kind of wish they had just hired an actor.
David Fincher also directed Fight Club, a great movie, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which I loathed. Button aside, I think he'll do a great job with American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The actor he cast as Lisbeth Salander, Rooney Mara, was in The Social Network as well, and she looks promising.
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11:00 PM
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