The Social Network is a film that fires on every cinematic cylinder in an age when we’re lucky if a film fires on just one or two. From the opening scene to the closing shot, this is a film that packs so much into every moment. It has a razor-sharp script by the ever clever/chatty Aaron Sorkin, a stellar ensemble of young actors who are destined for Awards season accolades, a gorgeously dark score by Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor, and all sorts of other goods that make it, in my view, the best film of the year so far.

The Social Network is first and foremost a David Fincher film. His distinctive mark is on every meticulously detailed, stylish frame. On the heels of the elegant/genteel/literary Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and the obsessive/creepy/methodical Zodiac, Fincher’s latest reflects the worlds and styles of both of those films, as well as their thematic concerns: obsession, ambition, the tension between human intimacy and time/efficiency/work.

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While working for Pepperdine University as a Resident Director, I was first introduced to facebook by an administrator.  Though brand new (and frankly silly sounding to me), he spoke of it in common terms.  He told me that students were flocking to it, but the catch was that only those with e-mail addresses ending in “.edu” could be on it.  I set up a profile due to my “.edu” password, and it felt kind of cool to be portraying some of my college self again – music, films, friends, etc. 

It soon became fascinating as I heard students ad lib about status updates, pictures, and gossipy pronouncements.  Students didn’t censor themselves.  They didn’t have to worry about their profiles being observed by curious parents, University employees, or others – just their friends (which of course rapidly changed and again redefined the term “internet privacy”).  What at first was silly and fascinating soon became frightening – talking about it with students was like walking on eggshells filled with rusty nails.

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