“The Social Network” shows the true drama behind Facebook

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The opening scene of “The Social Network” shows Mark Zuckerberg and his at-the-time girlfriend drinking some beers while on a date at a bar. The conversation, which is controlled by Mark (Jesse Eisenberg), is fast-paced and almost incomprehensible, jumping from topic to topic and back to the first topic. However the talk mainly focuses on Mark’s uncontrollable obsession with something called the Finalist Club, a social club that could introduce him to tons of friends, girls and overall acceptance. By the end of the scene, the viewer gets the feeling that Mark would do anything to gain this social acceptance, which becomes the underlying theme throughout the whole film.

After being approached by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (Armie Hammer) about creating a social networking site called Harvard Connection, Mark decides to enlist his best (and only) friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) to help him make their very own site, The Facebook. As The Facebook steadily grows and becomes more and more popular, Mark’s fame grows as well, yet he never really realizes it. Although he becomes widely known as the creator of The Facebook, Mark still spends the entire movie chasing after the acceptance he never truly feels he has gained.

The movie flawlessly switches between two different times: the creation of The Facebook in 2003 and the two deposition hearings four years later between Mark and the Winkelvoss twins and Mark and Eduardo. The constant flashbacks present the movie in a past-and-present kind of way without confusing the audience or giving away too much information.

The casting and directing of “The Social Network” was beautiful throughout the whole film. Although he branched out from his usual character of the cute, loveable underdog, Eisenberg played a great Mark Zuckerberg. Eisenberg shares many traits with Mark like his shy and awkward tendencies, so it was very easy for Eisenberg to connect with Mark’s character. Justin Timberlake played Sean Parker, the creator of Napster, who sees the future success of Facebook and leaches onto it. Timberlake is all-too-believable in his slimy role, and I found it very easy to blame him for at least a part of the bad deals that go down at the end of the movie. Additionally as good was Hammer. Born to play the uppity, blue-blooded Winklevoss twins, Hammer was able to give Tyler and Cameron each their own individual personalities. The only character I felt was a little off was Garfield’s Eduardo. While Garfield gave an outstanding performance as the loyal best friend who gets stabbed in the back, I feel Garfield was a much too Hollywood-esque choice for the role of Eduardo. Like Mark, Eduardo was a cute little nerdy boy in reality, and Garfield is too much the good-looking actor type.

While “The Social Network” is an excellent movie and has its funny moments, the film is coated in a layer of sadness. The struggle for popularity, friends and overall acceptance is the reoccurring theme for the film and is presented in a way that everyone can relate to. While Mark makes some questionable decisions that hurt the people around him, you can’t help but feel bad for him. Facebook was a way for him to gain the acceptance he’d dreamt about, but the more fame he garnered, the more isolated he became. Even during the celebration party for Facebook’s 1 millionth member, Mark spent the night alone at the office. Everyone can relate to the desire for social acceptance, so you almost can’t help but understand the decisions Mark made.

“The Social Network” opened today, and it is one of the few movies I would say is worth the ticket price.

Eisenberg and Hammer take “The Social Network” to tremendous high

Armie Hammer played Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss in "The Social Network." Photo by Holly Aker

Sitting in the ultra-padded leather seats in a conference room on the seventh floor of the Four Seasons, I was praying I wouldn’t puke. In mere moments I would be sitting across the table from actors Armie Hammer and Jesse Eisenberg from the new movie, “The Social Network.” I was here to interview the group as the Co-Entertainment Editor of the Hilltop Views, but I was having a hard time convincing myself I was a professional journalist and not a 14-year-old girl screaming at her favorite celebrities.

Lucky for me, Armie Hammer entered the room for his interview first. The actor is tall with broad shoulders, perfectly tousled dirty blond hair, chillingly blue eyes and flawlessly chiseled features that could make anyone double check themselves for drool – all things that make him perfect to play the roles of the blue-blooded, Harvard students and twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. As Hammer entered the room, he made a point to shake everyone’s hand and catch all of our names’, which soothed my nerves and my stomach.

Jesse Eisenberg played Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, in "The Social Network." Photo by Holly Aker.

Over the course of the interview, Hammer proved how much of a real and likable person he is. With his rich-as-Godiva-chocolate voice, he cracked jokes about everything from the Harvard stereotype to having his own Facebook. He also demonstrated that he is a serious actor and explained how he spent many hours learning to row (his characters are Olympic rowers), worked out continuously to match the body type of the Winklevoss twins, and even read the Harvard Student Handbook in order to be more in-tune with his characters.

Almost immediately after Hammer’s interview, Jesse Eisenberg shuffled into the room. Eisenberg is much smaller in person than he appears in his movies, and, like the majority of characters he plays on screen, he is the most adorably awkward guy I have ever met. As he sat down to start the interview, his discomfort radiated off of him, which made a little more sense later on in the interview when he admitted that, like his character Mark Zuckerberg, he just feels very uncomfortable in interview settings.

Luckily Eisenberg slowly warmed up as the interview progressed, and he was able to show how truly dedicated he is to acting. He explained to us how he researched everything he could about the Facebook inventor and even took up fencing in order to emulate Zuckerberg’s posture and personal ticks. Eisenberg also demonstrated the deep connection he creates to the characters he plays. He explained how he learns what the characters think and feel, and he truly discovers his characters’ souls.

The dedication of these two actors is obvious in “The Social Network.” Hammer and Eisenberg are naturally perfect fits for their characters, yet each of them went above and beyond to represent their characters as they are in real life. The film hits theaters Oct. 1, and these two dedicated actors are more than reason enough to get out and see it.