‘The Social Network’ reveals the colorful palette of characters who changed communication for good

"The Social Network" might seem like a predictable movie to skip out on simply because it’s about Facebook—and especially when the audience has notifications to check at home. However, the cast’s performance was what made the movie worthwhile, and is more engaging than sitting in front of a computer screen. You can read the plot on Wikipedia, but if you want to see and feel what went into the makings of Facebook, then you need to watch the movie.

Fall 2003: Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) is a socially handicapped Harvard undergraduate. Eisenberg embodies the awkward, blank personality of all of Michael Cera’s roles in his character, the only difference being that Zuckerberg's smart-aleck ego won’t shut up. It is in his dimly lit dorm room that Zuckerberg comes up with the idea of a social networking site for Harvard’s students that will eventually become Facebook.

Zuckerberg brings in his friend, Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) to help him handle finances in order to create the site. Garfield is delightfully expressive as Saverin, which balances out Zuckerberg’s deadpan persona. Where Zuckerberg stays almost annoyingly apathetic to everything except Facebook's success, Garfield stirs the sentiments of the audience.

The most famous name by far among the cast is Justin Timberlake, who plays Napster founder Sean Parker. Parker decides to help out with Facebook and Zuckerberg is impressed by him quickly, while Saverin gets left out and frustrated. The movie’s mood shifts with the characters’ feelings and is effective because of the credible actors.

"The Social Network" is meant to tell a story; a story where the characters are key in telling it right. If Facebook were to be told in documentary-style, the actors who gave this movie its depth would have been lost, killing the personalities that made the founding of Facebook a drama that could be transformed into a cinematic experience.

It is remarkably inspiring to watch a Harvard nobody become the founder of Facebook, a virtual Internet kingdom. "The Social Network" is perhaps one of the most relevant movies of this year—and with an audience of 110 million people in the United States alone, this movie should be as well received as Facebook was.