Facebook the movie
It took Justin Timberlake to be playing the part of Napster co-founder Sean Parker before my girlfriend would agree to go see the Social Network willingly.
Timberlake all too often plays gangster like roles, yet he did a sublime job and really made for an interesting 3rd dynamic to the Facebook show. If you’re not sure what it’s about… check out the trailer below.
Maybe it was the song in the trailer. Maybe it was the fact I’d met a some people going to work at Facebook. Maybe it was that I really don’t use Facebook enough. I’m guessing it’s down to my fascinated with the whole geek scene becoming popular over the past years.
A few months back, I prepped myself up for the release by watching the Pirates of Silicon Valley – a movie about Microsoft and Apple’s early years. What amazed most is that despite these 3 giant companies having their origins and founders made into movies – we’ve still yet to see Google with their own. Is it because Google hasn’t the same kind of drama that surrounded Microsoft and Apple’s rivalry or Zuckerberg’s past? I very much doubt that.
Jesse Eisenberg plays the role of Zuck (as his friends like to call him) in one of the most quick, charismatic, naive yet arrogant performances of any I’ve ever seen in a movie. No wonder there’s been a bit of controversy around the story and with Zuckerberg’s recent donation to charity, people are asking more than ever questions over his motives and about the individual behind the successful website – Facebook.
Regardless of whether or not Mark Zuckerberg had fears over how the movies would paint him – they definitely sat on the fence with it avoiding the black and white picture they could have taken.
Trent Rezor’s instrumental score with Zuckerburg running in the rain acted as an integral part of how the story was unfolding. Painting this picture of a boy in his youth getting to grips with society and how they desired to all fit in.
If you’re in your a geek with ambition or just hoping to play a part in the bigger web picture – this movie will have you looking to your laptop to boot up VIM or Emacs and mock up your own apps. Even if it is just a “Hello Facebook”. The movie even had wireframes and the artistic the Facebook offices took in it’s start-up days.
Did the show miss something? Was the romance thing a tad weird? No and yes, but these things made the story eerily real.