The Social Network (2010)
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The film portrays the founding of the social networking website Facebook through a series of legal disputes and personal betrayals.
The story
The film portrays the founding of the social networking website Facebook. The narrative is structured around two ongoing depositions: one involving Mark Zuckerberg being sued by his former friend Eduardo Saverin, and another involving a lawsuit from twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. The story begins in 2003 at Harvard University, where Zuckerberg creates a campus website called Facemash. This leads to the creation of 'TheFacebook' with Saverin's help. However, the rapid growth of the site and the involvement of Sean Parker create tension, leading to a series of disputes over intellectual property and ownership shares as the company moves toward becoming a global phenomenon.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The film follows the creation of Facebook, framed by two legal depositions. In 2003, Mark Zuckerberg creates Facemash at Harvard, leading to his academic probation. He then collaborates with Eduardo Saverin to launch 'TheFacebook' for Ivy League students. The site's success attracts the attention of Sean Parker, who introduces a 'billion-dollar' vision and suggests the name 'Facebook'. As the company expands to other universities, the Winklevoss twins and Divya Narendra sue Zuckerberg for stealing their 'Harvard Connection' idea. Meanwhile, internal tensions rise between Zuckerberg and Saverin over Parker's influence and the company's direction. Saverin eventually finds himself excluded from the company's masthead and diluted of his shares after a deal with investor Peter Thiel. The film concludes with the resolution of both lawsuits out of court, revealing Zuckerberg as a billionaire, while the final scene shows him sending a friend request to his former girlfriend.
- First release year
- 2010
- Runtime (minutes)
- 120
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- David Fincher
- Writers
- Aaron Sorkin · writer
- Cast and characters
- Jesse Eisenberg · Mark Zuckerberg; Andrew Garfield · Eduardo Saverin; Justin Timberlake · Sean Parker; Armie Hammer · Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss; Max Minghella · Divya Narendra
- Genres
- biographical drama
- Themes
- friendship; loyalty; jealousy; class; power
- Tone and mood
- intense; claustrophobic
- Premise and plot tags
- biographical; legal drama; business
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich
- Reception
- The Social Network was widely acclaimed by critics and was a major commercial success, becoming one of the best films of the year and the 2010s.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 96% · scale: percentage · review count: 335; Metacritic · score: 95 · scale: 100 · review count: 42
- Awards and nominations
- Best Motion Picture – Drama · Golden Globe · 2011 · win; Best Director · Golden Globe · 2011 · win; Best Screenplay · Golden Globe · 2011 · win; Best Original Score · Golden Globe · 2011 · win; Best Editing · Academy Award · 2011 · win; Best Adapted Screenplay · Academy Award · 2011 · win; Best Original Score · Academy Award · 2011 · win; Best Picture · National Board of Review · win
- Production trivia
- The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2024.; The first scene took 99 takes to finish.; The film's score was composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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