Of course I had to go and see this movie. I mean this man, Mark Zuckerberg, went from Harvard undergrad without two pennies to rub together and is now worth 25 billion dollars!!!! The youngest billionaire in the world. And, I am of course a Facebooker myself.
I am not sure how much of the movie is true to actual events but it was entertaining and you do really get into the characters. In fact, I believe it is only loosely based on the book “The Accidental Billionaires” by Ben Mezrich. My book club read it a while ago to very mixed reviews, even though it is a fascinating read. I did dislike Mark Zuckerberg from the beginning of the movie right through to the end. I thought he was an obnoxious, self-centered, socially inept ass. Is he in real life – I actually can imagine he is? The actor, Jesse Eisenberg, who plays him is quite brilliant. Sean Parker, of Napster fame, played by Justin Timberlake, portrayed a paranoid genius who may have the claim of taking Mark’s creation to world-wide phenomena. Is that true?
Most of the film takes place by showing flashbacks from two separate lawsuits. One from the Winklevoss twins who were suing Mark for stealing their idea, and the other from his partner and CFO, Eduardo Saverin, who you cant help but feel sorry for throughout the movie, as he seemed to have been dismissed and treated poorly by not only his best friend, Mark, but by the ego that is Sean Parker. It was Eduardo’s algorithm that got the original site moving forward. Both settled… the Winklevoss’ for a reported amount of $65 million, and Saverin for an undisclosed amount and for his name to be back on the site as co-founder. I can only imagine how much he actually got from this. The mind boggles.
The movie did keep me entertained throughout, although I don’t think it is Oscar worthy as some are talking. The Social Network is a good movie that does keep you wanting more as it moves scene to scene. Go see it.
