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| Scene from The Social Network |
Welcome to Alternative to What: a weekly column that tries to find a great alternative to driving to the multiplexes. Based on releases of that week, the selections will either be thematically related or feature recurring cast and crew. The goal is to help you better understand the diversity of cinema and hopefully find you some favorites while saving a few bucks. At worse, this column will save you money. Expect each installment to come out on Fridays, unless specified.
THIS WEEK:
The Social Network (2010)
- Alternative To -
Steve Jobs (2015)
There's a lot that can be said about writer Aaron Sorkin. For one, he is very much a stubborn man who doesn't have the most progressive views about women. Also, his writing tends to be holier-than-thou with most of his work focusing on frustrating geniuses. Of course, that's also what makes Steve Jobs such a compelling sell. For a man with such a niche writing style, he sure knows how to make a compelling script. He moves fast, unwilling to let people lag in conversation. If you blink for five seconds, you're likely to miss thrice as many sentences. He's an enviable writer in a lot of ways, and it's sort of why he always remains a worthwhile force, even as he remains critically panned in TV series like The Newsroom.
But when he's on, he is on. One doesn't need to travel far to get this. In 2010, he released what many would consider his magnum opus, at least on film (The West Wing argues about being the best in general). The Social Network is another film about another genius for the computer age. This time, it's Mark Zuckerberg and the invention of Facebook. It's a film that doesn't seem to be all that interesting on paper. In fact, it seemed more novelty with the lack of competition for MySpace, Friendster, Twitter, or even SnapChat movies. Yet, it remains one of both Sorkin and director David Fincher's most talked about movies. To understand this, you don't even need to watch a lot of the film.
The opening sequence alone should sell you on Sorkin's gift of gab. It's a two way conversation in which Jesse Eisenberg and Rooney Mara discuss a variety of topics. There's no exterior action, save for a noisy bar. We're thrown into these character's lives, and it is here that we understand Zuckerberg's generally conflicting nature. For those minutes, we're thrown into a dizzying wind of banter about school politics and authority that shouldn't be as interesting as they eventually are. For a scene that mostly serves as the thesis for why Zuckerberg desperately wants to get his girlfriend back, it manages to convey a lot in implication. There's a reason that Sorkin won his first Oscar for this film. By the time it cuts to quiet credits, it feels like we earned that break.
But when he's on, he is on. One doesn't need to travel far to get this. In 2010, he released what many would consider his magnum opus, at least on film (The West Wing argues about being the best in general). The Social Network is another film about another genius for the computer age. This time, it's Mark Zuckerberg and the invention of Facebook. It's a film that doesn't seem to be all that interesting on paper. In fact, it seemed more novelty with the lack of competition for MySpace, Friendster, Twitter, or even SnapChat movies. Yet, it remains one of both Sorkin and director David Fincher's most talked about movies. To understand this, you don't even need to watch a lot of the film.
The opening sequence alone should sell you on Sorkin's gift of gab. It's a two way conversation in which Jesse Eisenberg and Rooney Mara discuss a variety of topics. There's no exterior action, save for a noisy bar. We're thrown into these character's lives, and it is here that we understand Zuckerberg's generally conflicting nature. For those minutes, we're thrown into a dizzying wind of banter about school politics and authority that shouldn't be as interesting as they eventually are. For a scene that mostly serves as the thesis for why Zuckerberg desperately wants to get his girlfriend back, it manages to convey a lot in implication. There's a reason that Sorkin won his first Oscar for this film. By the time it cuts to quiet credits, it feels like we earned that break.
Of course, it also works because Eisenberg is just so easily smug in the way that Sorkin's writing best conveys. He's able to be condescending while funny. Even if the film manages to transition into a more conventional drama, replacing the court room with a conference room, it does so with a sense of one-up-man-ship. Everyone's trying to outdo each other as the history unfolds and we understand how Sorkin's version of Facebook came to be. It's somehow more compelling than it has any right to be given the conventions. Fincher's cold, dark style compliments the film and it ends up becoming a film that inevitably commentates on our current societal need to connect while possibly being even more isolated than ever.
I haven't seen Steve Jobs yet, but I can presume that a lot of the familiar tropes will be there. For starters, I expect Zuckerberg and Jobs to not be that different. Maybe their language will be slightly off, but the rest should be on par with what we've come to expect from Sorkin. Speaking as Danny Boyle's direction is supposed to be just as complicated, there's a good chance that this will be as unique. I don't know that it always works when adapting Sorkin. Moneyball was especially lacking any real gravitas. However, there's a reason that he's a writer with a lot of acclaim. If The Social Network doesn't convince you, within minutes, then nothing will show you the power of great writing.
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