The Social Network: If you want a friend...

There's a lot of anticipation for "The Social Network" and it is well deserved. While "The Social Network" is not a documentary, there is something so real and tangible about the portrayal of the young adults who inhabit this nexus of social relations, technology, creativity and intelligence, that it feels like a very important document about American life now, in all of its brilliance, immaturity, complexity and sheer possibility. A very important and entertaining movie. From the fast-paced opening dialogue to its closing scene, the film, directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, takes an unflinching view of the roots and development of our Brave New Mediated World. The cast is remarkable from top to bottom and David Fincher's reputation for multiple, multiple takes bears fruition here with great performances throughout. Jesse Eisenberg (as Mark Zuckerberg), Andrew Garfield (Eduardo Saverin), Justin Timberlake (Sean Parker), Armie Hammer and Josh Pence (Cameron and Tyler Winkelvoss) are superb in this engrossing, dialogue-rich roller coaster ride that takes us from the dorms of Harvard to Silicon Valley, with plenty of examples of lost opportunities and hard feelings along the way.

A key thread in the film explores the transitory nature of personal relations and friendship in business, running, in a way, in a funny kind of tandem with familial betrayals in Oliver Stone's "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps."  After seeing both films, one occurring before and one after the biggest financial bubble of all, I was left thinking that while Wall Street - albeit the more clearly fictionalized of the two and dealing basically with cold hard cash-- opens the door to redemption, "The Social Network" suggests that, beyond wealth perhaps, the sense of personal stake in creativity and  invention trumps all.

The compelling script, done Rashomon-style with conflicting points of view, nevertheless portrays that intangible something coupled with freedom and creativity that shows why the U.S.A., despite our flaws and endless problems, remains the most singular and amazing nation in the world.

Much has been written about "The Social Network" already, so for now I will borrow a line from another classic piece of Cinema-Americana about entrepreneurship and just say "Don't ask why, just go and God Bless America."