“In a world where social structure was everything, that was THE thing.” ~FINAL WORDS ON MY BELOVED: THE SOCIAL NETWORK

        

Taken from The Film Experience Blog  

        I know...I really hope this is my last The Social Network themed post too. Not that my love for it has reduced, rather it has only been growing exponentially. But because there are only so many months you

should spend obsessing over a movie lest everyone looks at you as a crazy person (and they are now).


       So Oscars are 3 days away now and the big question arises- who will win Best Picture. My vote, as posted earlier, goes to The Social Network. But along with that, I want the film to win in almost all the other seven categories it has been nominated for (not cinematography so much- Roger Deakins for True Grit FTW). Award and Reasons:




        1) Editing- The editting in this film is mindblowing. Fincher (who I shall talk about below) is famous, or rather infamous for the many many takes he does on every scene. There is a reason for this, as only the best takes, angles, etc are chosen. This film was all over the place- dorm rooms, bars, lakes, offices, courtrooms, etc. The beauty of the film comes when it skips from one place to another, one person to another and that too at the precise point where as to create maximum interest. My favourite part- just watch the hacking scene.
       The Social Network is an almost lock for this, for all I have read. If not this, then 127 Hours as Danny Boyle films can never be as fantastic without the expert editing done. Also Black Swan would be a good choice. I really hope The King's Speech(bloody fools!)  does not unfairly win for this.

       2) Sound Mixing- The clatter at the bars, the clicking of the keys of the laptop, and the Mark's voice that emerges out. The first scene at the bar with Erica was done 99 times, so that the right mixture of noise and the converstation between her and Mark is shown. And we all know what an impact the scene had.
       I think The Social Network's biggest competitor for this is the equally deserving Inception. The cities being created, the water flooding in, the buildings crumbling down- what a beauty. Apparently Salt has a very good chance in this category, but I haven't seen it so I can't comment.




        3) Score- Oh Trent and Atticus....I love you for what you did with the film. I was watching a bit of voice-over commentary in my The Social Network DVD, and Aaron Sorkin (will talk about him next) was talking about how he wanted a really loud and sort of angry/cocky song to play when Mark walks from the bar to his dorm room at Kirkland House. Instead, Fincher got these two to write the poignant and chilling Hand Covers Bruise that comes thrice in the film to play. And that did the trick. An incredible score full of all sorts of instruments making just wonderful music is innovative and untraditional as hell- my favourite being A Familiar Taste that plays when www.facemash.com takes over.
       Again, only Hans Zimmers' ground-breaking score for Inception can give this competition. Why- because one will remember them as much as the films they're from. Alexandre Desplat is fantastic, but hardly deserving for The King's Speech(bollocks!).

         4) Screenplay- Whatever little I have seen of West Wing, the way the characters spoke always stood out for me. And now Aaron Sorkin wrote this absolute gem of a screenplay (which I am reading right now, and needless to say is simply superb). Just basing it on Ben Mezrich's Accidental Billionaires was not enough. So he investigated the whole backstory of the "inception" of Facebook, and created this whole Rashomon-type of script where no-one's a hero and no-ones a villain but just these absolutely unforgettable characters and the relationships they have with each other. The best- the courtroom scenes: "Did I adequately answer your condescending question?"
        No one other than Sorkin deserves this- just watch the film and read the script. Also- did anyone notice Sorkin playing the Ad exec. irritated with Mark's "glottal stops".

       5) Actor- So Andrew Garfield got snubbed. If not for anything then they should give Jesse Eisenberg an Oscar just to make up for this. Except, in retrospect, I realise now that he is the most deserving of the Best Actor accolade. The way he delivers the lines, the way he hardly shows emotions, but we feel everything that he does. His Mark ended up being the biggest mystery of the year- forget the Limbo and Nina's death. Why did he do everything that he did? How does he feel about Eduardo? And so on...we are just completely  enticed by an actor who has been typecast as a nerd, but by playing possibly the world's most famous and complex nerd, has broken all of his boundaries and has emerged as one of the best of his generation.
      Keeping Jesse aside, the whole film was full of these incredible young actors playing these extraordinary young people. I mean talk about ideal casting for a movie which is showing a generation and a future for the world being played by people who are exactly like this.
       Yes, Colin Firth has this 99.99% in the bag for his mesmerising role in The King's Speech (horseshit), but it will be something to see a surprise win for Jesse and what his speech could be like. (And the joy on bff Andrew's face).




       6) Director- Fincher, Fincher, Fincher...how I love thee. EW just released a list of Greatest Living Directors and David Fincher tops the list. Why? Seven, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and yes, The Social Network. I don't care how many shots he takes, because his end results are somewhat of what one would call cinematic power-packs. As said in LAMB Devours Oscars- The Social Network, "David Fincher ended the nineteen-nineties by producing one of its most important films; with The Social Network, he has started the twenty-tens in a similar fashion." The only reason I had gone berserk about this film since the beginning was because this absolutely divine film maker was making it. And it has been one of the best of his bejewelled career. In my own review I had talked about how different it was from his other films. After seeing the film for the fifth time yesterday, I realise how wrong I was. True it did not deal with serial killers, but the dark, gritty feel remains...even sort of scarier this time round because this film uses weapons of a whole another kind. Instead of John Doe's "artillery" this film explores courtrooms and the un-chartered territories of the World Wide Web. And only Fincher could've done with it and the actors and script in order to make it the modern-day classic t is.
       Fincher should be the one winning the gold. If he doesn't (and this will lead to some sort of violence on my part), and as Christopher Nolan was snubbed, the only other deserving director is weird-and-brilliant Darren Aronfsky for Black Swan. TOM HOOPER MUST NOT WIN THIS.

      And finally, BEST FILM- I can't explain enough why I love this film so much. Nathaniel R of The Film Experience describes the film in a splendiferous way: 
'Not many movies feel like new classics whileyou're watching them. And as early as the first scene, too. Most need time to settle. Not so withThe Social Network which just speeds through, all synapses firing with rich performances (Jesse's best) inspired direction (Fincher's best) and handsome production values (many people's best?), until... "wait, it's over?" When that ending comes (spoilers: Mark Zuckerberg invented Facebook, got sued, is a gajillionaire) you want to click "refresh" yourself. Project that bad boy again! Here's why I know it's a new classic: second viewing, ending comes "wait, it's over? Refresh!"; third viewing, ending comes "wait, it's over? Refresh!"; Fourth viewing, ending comes "wait, it's over? Refresh!"'
        I've had proper arguments with people over why The Social Network deserves to win. One of my biggest reasons is that films like Black Swan and Inception could have been made 5-10 years from now and still would have the same effect; The King's Speech(stupid fools) is a period drama about royals during World War 2 and could've been made anytime *generic* and so on. However, The Social Network is about us NOW. It deserves to win NOW. And also it won't ever become obsolete as this film will define our generation forever.
       If *God forbid* The Social Network doesn't win this this then - Black Swan, Inception, Toy Story 3 or 127 Hours.
JUST WIN ALREADY!!!!!

       That's it. Last words on it. I really hope and pray it wins as this will somehow become a personal victory for me. A few links I found on this splendid splendid film:


Observations on Film Art
The Sorkin Network

-Love, Mrs. Garfield