David Fincher
The Social Network

Story of a singular case. The events that led to the global consecration of socialization made in the USA: one that thrives on exclusivity rather than inclusion. And exclusivity is based on exclusion, as the common root of the word reminds us.

Exclusion. This is the driving force behind David Fincher's beautiful film: a computer nerd at Harvard (a distillation of the best youth, American and otherwise) is dumped by his girlfriend, who suddenly excludes him from her world. The revenge he crafts to punish her is inevitably telematic: by hacking into university networks and sharing their confidential photo archives, the nerd sets up an online game to compare the girls' photos against each other - ex-girlfriend included. Although unsatisfactory to soothe the bitterness, the gimmick sparks a series of events featuring a host of characters who are very emblematic of the social network phenomenon: we have the two wealthy athletic twins who involve the nerd in a project to help them attract as many girls as possible and turn it into money; we have the loyal yet somewhat naïve college roommate who helps him develop an idea parallel to the twins'; we have the slick and charming loafer, quick to join the most exclusive club of all, that of the winners, who does not hesitate to push the nerd to betray his friend. And in the background, a series of "extras" aptly convey the human assortment involved: jealous and crazy nymphs, supportive yet incoherent ex-girlfriends, and so on. These are the characters that surround the scene dominated by the nerd known as Mark Zuckerberg, these are the characters that populate the origins of Facebook. Yes, because the story of the most widespread global social network is rooted in a saga that, through curious irony, blends bitterness, revenge, disloyalty, envy, dissatisfaction, curiosity, and ambition.

The screenplay of the film is excellent, and so are the dialogues, brilliant and fast-paced. It can be said, in fact, that the strength of "The Social Network," beyond its topicality, lies precisely where one would think its weakness lies: it is all spoken. The thread of the film, which moves nimbly through syncopated flashbacks, is the face-off between Zuckerberg and the various lawyers to clarify both the fraud against former partner Eduardo Saverin and the alleged theft of the idea behind the twins De Winklevoss' project. But Facebook’s boom has occurred, and the stock market value is now worth billions.

To his opponents, there remains only to gather the crumbs under the table and resign themselves. Meanwhile, the nerd has managed to unleash his curse: making us all wake up dissatisfied and envious like him, trying to integrate into the prevailing exclusivity in front of a laptop screen.