The Social Network, the best film of 2010

The Social Network, A+

I’m going to try and stick to ideas and comments that haven’t been made 300 times (or if they have, I’m actually going to justify them, which is often not the case). On the note of reality vs. fiction, I will say right now that I will not address the question about what is or isn’t real. Frankly, I don’t care; it gets at deeper human truths that are tremendously important in this day and age.

This film succeeds on every level for me; it’s extremely entertaining and intellectually invigorating. I really can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen it, at least 6. On my 2010 in film note, it won Best Picture and Best Actor (Eisenberg), and was nominated for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, Art Direction and Best Trailer. Aaron Sorkin, David Fincher and Jesse Eisenberg created one of the most fascinating characters in recent cinema history. Zuckerberg is an absolutely tremendous character. Every tiny detail down to his costume is unbelievably powerful. My personal favorite is his (as Eduardo refers to them) “fuck you flip flops.”

The genius of The Social Network is that as Peter Travers claims, it defines The Facebook Generation. It discusses this in a very subtle way, which is simply juxtaposing The Facebook Generation characters and the older characters. No point in the movie shows this more clearly than the sequence in which Fincher cuts between Zuckerberg programming FaceMash drinking with his friends and the sexy energetic Harvard Final Club party. It establishes two different worlds at that time; there's the old world in which people spend time with one another (with a concentration in the scene on sexuality) and a new world in which we sit in front of a computer and "pretend" to be together. The reason this film defines our generation is that it exposes the manner in which social networking drives our isolation. We call it efficiency, thus leading to a better life. The Social Network, and myself, would argue that through social networking we’re losing our connection to one another. We are able to maintain more relationships, however those relationships are much more shallow, and in turn, significantly less valuable. 

Holy Rollers, a musing on faith vs. blind faith

Holy Rollers, B+

Holy Rollers is a character drama about faith, or faith vs. blind faith. The best part about this film for me is Kevin Asch’s patient unobtrusive camera. Instead of throwing in stylistic flourishes and overcomplicating things like so many first time directors do, he really just lets the world exist and lets the actors drive the emotions of the film.

         Holy Rollers is about a Hasidic Jew named Sam, played excellently as always by Jesse Eisenberg, who kind of has to choose between the pure religious life of his family and the decadent high paying drug-peddling lifestyle of his friend Yosef, played surprisingly well by Justin Bartha (humorous sidekick Riley in National Treasure). While Sam is happy with the comfort of his family, he also wants money so that they can have a better life.  

An Interview with Screenwriter Antonio Macia, on his Sundance 2010 film Holy Rollers starring Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Bartha

Here is my conversation with Antonio Macia, the screenwriter who penned the 2010 Sundance film Holy Rollers. His first film, Anne B. Real, was nominated for two Independent Spirit awards including the John Cassavetes Award (awarded to a film with a budget under $500,000), and Best Debut Performance (Janice Richardson). His film Holy Rollers, newly on Netflix Instant Watch, is a story about a young Hasidic jew (played excellently by Jesse Eisenberg) who is seduced into smuggling ecstasy by his neighbor Yosef (played equally well by Justin Bartha, who's famous for his role as Riley in National Treasure). Expect a review of Holy Rollers to follow in the coming week. 

Brandon: You’re the son of South American immigrants, you served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and you’ve studied in Paris, Madrid and Argentina. You then made your first movie about a young female rapper, which you were nominated for at the Independent Spirits. What drew you to a story of Hasidic Jews in NYC?

Antonio: Yes, I was interested by Hasidism, but ultimately, I knew that I could never do that world justice. I could do my best at ‘getting the facts’ right, but there are so many different sects. I was interested in Hasidism as an insular society, but I’m always asking myself ‘Why?’ I didn’t want to recreate a stereotype, but paint a real family with real problems.