Movie Review: Let Me In


By: D.B. Ketting
Media Critic
Writer
September/October 2010

The Social Network is based on the book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal by Ben Mezerich. The Social Network tells the slightly fictional and mostly factual story of the founding of Facebook. The primary source for the book was Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook.

The Social Netowrk is well paced, shot with such precision, and the subject matter is intriging. The director, David Fincher, simply tells the story and leaves the interpretation to the audience of who is right, which is rather a bold decision.

It is difficult to keep this review entirely spoiler free since the events depicted in the film are based on fictionalized but true events. In 2003 Mark Zuckerberg is a lonely sophomore at Harvard, looking to be accepted by the school’s elite in order to have “a better life”. After a rather nasty breakup, Zuckerberg pulls off an impressive feat of computer coding, which lands in trouble with the school and the female student population, but also brings him to the attention of the Winklevoss twins and their partner. The trio hire Zuckerberg to help code a website for them, a social network that based on the idea of exclusivity. Not long after that Zuckerberg tells his friend Eduardo Saverin that he has had an idea for a social network of his own and needs start up money. In exchange he promised to make Saverin CFO off TheFacebook.

Each role is cast surprisingly well. Jesse Eisenberg portrays Mark Zuckerberg as part genius, part narcissistic and arrogant a-hole, and in the context of the movie, he is flawed yet somewhat sympathetic. The source material for the movie paints Eduardo Saverin as a hero and a victim, which falls in line with how Andrew Garfield portrays Saverin as a likeable guy who attempts to be friends and partners with Zuckerberg. To go into further details would be to ruin the plot of the movie, even though most of it is public knowledge. Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler, are both played by Armie Hammer with additional shots using Josh Pence as a stand in. Their partner Divya Narendra is played by Max Minghella. Justin Timberlake plays Sean Parker as a complex character with layers that can either be seen as a villain or an anti-hero.

This film is a very well told and interesting story, with no really flaws and spot on acting.