The Social Network (PG-13)

Cast and Credits

Director: David Fincher

Writer: Aaron Sorkin

Actors: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake

Mark Zuckerberg Needs Facebook.

Mark Zuckerberg is quite an interesting character. The youngest person to ever become a billionaire. He's smart, witty, but totally unaware of other people's feelings and emotions, and this is what we see in The Social Network. A young genius that simply wants to work and build on his creation, but at some point will have to deal with the problems he has created along the way.

Zuckerberg, a student at Harvard in the Fall of 2003, quickly shows off his computer programming ability when one night, after his girlfriend breaks up with him, he hacks into the Harvard network and creates a site that receives enough hits to crash the system. From this Mark soon gains notoriety from many of his fellow students and what Mark has wanted all along, popularity. Popularity, for Mark, is a driving force behind many of his actions.

Because of his expertise with programming, three students ask him to help them build a website for Harvard students to connect with one another. Months later the website Facebook is born with Mark and his best friend Eduardo as the creators. The site quickly becomes a success, spreading rapidly throughout college campuses and soon the entire world, but this success does not come easy as Mark is hit with two lawsuits one even being his best friend and cofounder Eduardo.

The major irony of the film is Mark Zuckerberg's ambition is to create a site that will help people connect with each other while Mark seems incapable of connecting to anyone himself. He is so focused on the task that his friends are thrown by the wayside. As brilliant of a human being as he is, many times he doesn't stop to think about the consequences of his actions. We see at the end of the film, the inventor of Facebook still having to worry over a friend request to his ex-girlfriend. Maybe he is not so different than us. 

The Social Network feels like the 21st century. Information in the film is given at a fast-pace just like it is on an everyday basis in the world today. It has a great understanding of what is it like to live in a society where information, creativity, and popular culture are always right at our fingertips. Because it does this we easily feel as if we are a part of the film, but really, in many ways, we are.

Mark Zuckerberg is not simply the inventor of Facebook, he is an inventor of a new way of life, which is social media. Is he an ambitious jerk that pushed everyone close to him away? That is for each individual to answer. But without question Zuckerberg has changed the way we connect with people, and for that he deserves recognition.

As a story, The Social Network is about creation and invention, but as a film it is a work of history. The Social Network encapsulates the times we live in. It is a piece of art much like a time capsule, that when viewed many years from now, will give a picture of what life was like at the beginning of the 21st century.

Never Let Me Go (R)

Cast and Credits

Director: Mark Romanek

Writer: Kazou Ishiguro (Novel), Alex Garland (Screenwriter)

Actors: Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley

Life is Short

While watching Never Let Me Go I was reminded of the 2005 film The Island, not because of the similarities between the two, but because of the stark differences of two films that deal with many of the same topics. The Island follows two clones who are grown to be organ donors for people in the real world. When they find out the truth of their lives they escape, create havoc, and rebel against this inhuman system. 

In contrast, Never Let Me Go depicts people held to the same fate, but these people react very differently. They understand their fate at a young age and yet they surprisingly seem accepting of it instead of rebellious. They live the lives that are set before them. In a world where we are continually told to stand up against oppressive systems and fight for justice, to our amazement, they don't. Because of this I was struck by a question that I still am unable to answer. Is it honorable that these people simply accept their fate? 

Looking back, Kathy tells us the story of her life with her two best friends Ruth and Tommy. Beginning with their time as children at the English boarding school Hailsham. There is something haunting about Hailsham as the children regularly have doctor's check ups, take classes that aren't what we normally see, and have no understanding of the outside world. The truth comes out to what is going on the school when Miss Lucy tells her students the horrible truth that their only purpose in life is to be organ donors and they will die before they reach middle age. 

As a young girl at Hailsham Kathy befriends an outcast boy named Tommy. Their relationship continues to develop as they live at the school. But Kathy's best friend Ruth soon comes in and takes Tommy to be her boyfriend. The three grow up and at the age of 18 are moved to cottages to live until it is time for them to donate. 

There is such a feeling of nostalgia through much of the film as Kathy is remembering her story. The past is the most present force in their lives because they have no future. It's filmed in a way that keeps our focus on nature, the past, and how those two elements combine to form memories. The scenery throughout is absolutely stunning and it aids what is being said about life.

At the cottages Kathy feels alienated because everyone else including Tommy and Ruth are in romantic relationships. She seems to have a real sense and understanding of what her life will look like, and because of this she carries a heavy weight.

The three childhood friends ultimately separate to move on with the short lives they have left, but they all meet up again near the end. They realize what they had with each other, and Tommy and Kathy again find the love they had for one another when they first met as children. These relationships are so important because they have nothing without them. 

Never Let Me Go isn't about the wrongs of cloning or about the morality of scientific advancement. It's about the importance of relationships, communication, love, the human condition, and the beauty of life. The film moves simply so that you can focus on these people's lives and consider your own. It was moving, thought provoking, and one of the best critiques about human life in a film for a long time.