Movies
“At Last: A Smart teen Comedy that Adults will Love too.� Linda Barnard, TORONTO STAR
OPENINGS
The Social Network ---1/2
(Century 16, Century 20) There’s a lot to “Likeâ€? about “The Social Network.â€? The riveting film about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg defines a generation, Ă la “Easy Riderâ€? and “The Breakfast Club.â€? Director David Fincher (“Fight Club,â€? “The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonâ€?) helms with a deft touch; the screenplay by Aaron Sorkin is beautifully crafted; and the acting is exceptional. In fact, the only thing missing from “The Social Networkâ€? is a likable protagonist. Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg of “Zombielandâ€?) wasn’t always the world’s youngest billionaire. In 2003, the computer whiz was an undergrad at Harvard University, more interested in campus life and dating than status updates or profile pics. When Zuckerberg is unceremoniously dumped by college flame Erica Albright (Rooney Mara), he spends the evening chugging beer, lambasting Erica on his blog and creating a website called Facemash, which displays photos of two Harvard girls side-by-side and invites users to pick the more attractive one. Facemash lands Zuckerberg in the Harvard doghouse but plants the seed that would eventually become the Facebook tree. Impressed by the popularity of Facemash, Harvard students (and twin brothers) Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (Armie Hammer and Josh Pence) and a colleague approach Zuckerberg to enlist his help with the development of Harvard Connection, a MySpace-esque site specifically for Harvard students. Bing! Zuckerberg quickly enlists the financial and moral support of his best friend, Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield of “Lions for Lambsâ€?), to create his own social-networking site. In less time than it takes to fix a transmission, Zuckerberg designs and builds TheFacebook.com. The site is a fast success, and soon Zuckerberg and Saverin are figuring out ways to expand it to other universities (including Stanford) while the Winklevoss twins fume that Zuckerberg “stole our website.â€? “The Social Networkâ€? jumps back and forth in time, through the evolution of Facebook (which includes the involvement of Napster founder Sean Parker, played by Justin Timberlake) to the deterioration of Zuckerberg’s and Saverin’s friendship, and Zuckerberg facing two multi-million-dollar lawsuits. Developing a website as popular as Facebook doesn’t come without a price. Eisenberg is perfectly cast as Zuckerberg, who comes across as aloof and self-serving, though there’s a sympathetic loneliness that accompanies his impressive programming IQ. It’s ironic that the man with more than 500 million friends on Facebook reportedly didn’t have many (if any) before Facebook became Facebook. And, the film portrays him as throwing the one true friend he had — Saverin — under the bus when Facebook started soaring. Of course there are some missing components when a film squeezes seven years into a two-hour runtime. Garfield rides an emotional roller coaster as Saverin and proves up to the task. Timberlake is perfectly cast as Parker and is starting to demonstrate that he is not only a charismatic actor, he’s also a good one. The film moves at a fantastic pace and is rife with humor, suspense and insight. Fincher is a considerate, meticulous and visionary director, and his influence is obvious. The soundtrack, lighting, cinematography and production design are impressive. “The Social Networkâ€? is that much more provocative for those of us who live in Silicon Valley and have made Facebook a part of our daily lives. Status update: Don’t miss it. Rated PG-13 for language, drug and alcohol use
and sexual content. 2 hours, 1 minute. — Tyler Hanley
Never Let Me Go ---
(Aquarius) For starters, say this for “Never Let Me Go,� the new film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s celebrated novel: You haven’t seen anything like it at the movies this year. Ishiguro’s dystopian, alternate-universe science-fiction melodrama gets a rendering from director Mark Romanek (“One Hour Photo�) that’s austere to a fault. But the deliberate withholding of exposition effectively keeps those who haven’t read the novel guessing, as screenwriter Alex Garland (“28 Days Later...�) slowly, incrementally doles out the story’s secrets. The approach bonds the viewer to the leading characters, who grow up confused and frustrated in the vaguely sinister Hailsham House boarding school. Three youngsters compose a love triangle: shyly emotive Kathy (Izzy Meikle-Small), brashly confident Ruth (Ella Purnell) and sensitive loner Tommy (Charlie Rowe), the boy in whom both girls develop an interest. Part of the poignancy of the story is the very ordinariness of this grade-school drama, set against the backdrop of powerful social forces they cannot control. These children have been isolated from mainstream society to serve a social purpose, and the reason they have been singled out for servitude functions as an allegory for the random selection of class. The audience’s empathy curdles as the viewers realize they themselves are the bad guys in this scenario: the privileged class who lives on the backs of the less fortunate. When the students move out of the school and into their adult roles, Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Ruth (Keira Knightley) and Tommy (Andrew Garfield) have developed physically but made little emotional progress. Unfair laws, a sheltered upbringing and, yet more disturbing, the sense of self-limitation inculcated from a young age socially cripples the trio, but they work to justify their lives as meaningful, if only on their own terms. Perhaps they can find forgiveness from each other for their sins of selfishness or neglect, and win redemption through self-sacrifice. Mulligan’s brand of quiet suffering turns out to be ideal for the delicate porcelain doll that is Kathy, and Knightley is convincing enough as both vamp and guilty seeker of repentance. Garfield gives the most interesting performance, embodying his tender, overgrown child with awkward postures, nervous eyes and sudden, impotent rages. Together, the cast, Romanek and composer Rachel Portman lay out a terrible melancholy only made worse by the characters’ naive hope against hope. Though we may not be members of an underclass, “Never Let Me Go� also works on a universal, existential level, with its metaphors for how we’re used up and slowly emptied out by a society that undervalues living for the moment. In facing their terrible duty, the characters come to understand that no one gets out of life alive. The filmmakers’ one unforgiveable mistake comes with the film’s final lines, which spell out the film’s theme in a disappointing display of distrust in the audience.
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“
is for awesome!� Mark S. Allen CBS - CW TV & REELZ CHAN NEL
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Rated R for some sexuality and nudity. One hour, 44 minutes. — Peter Canavese
You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger ---
(Guild) In a movie with eight major roles, such as “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger,� you’d think (continued on next page)
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