The Social Network: You might want to click the accept button for this one
Who would think that Hollywood could produce a blockbuster out of the story about the founding of Facebook — a movie that is centered on a pair of court cases, with the action being driven by legal discovery sessions in a pair of board rooms? Actually, the trailers made it clear The Social Network would be entertaining enough. What surprised me was just how good it was — and how relatively balanced and nuanced it turned out to be.
Going in, there were some reasons not to expect any semblance of balance. For starters, the film was based on what is generally regarded as a one-sided book. Strike one. And Hollywood is not exactly known for fair and balanced depictions of the business world. Strike two. And the screenwriter was Aaron Sorkin, who generally likes his characters to wear white hats or black hats — no shades of grey allowed. Strike three. Nope, that one turned out to be a foul tip. In fact, Sorkin went on to hit this one clear over the fence. Read