Moviegoers were recently treated to the release of Dumb Money, a true story based on the 2021 book The Antisocial Network by Ben Mezrich. The book and the film chronicle the true story of the GameStop short squeeze of stock, which caused major financial consequences for certain hedge funds and led to large losses for short sellers. In essence, 140 percent of GameStop's public float had been sold short, and that led to a rush to buy shares to cover those positions as they rose, causing it to rise even further.
It's a film that has been compared to David Fincher's The Social Network because it's a true story that seems too crazy to be true. That being said, The Social Network's story is a bit more by the numbers and is essentially a tale of greed that led to the founding of Facebook, which was turned into a piece of riveting cinema that is even more compelling than the story that inspired it.
Author Ben Mezrich was also behind the 2009 book that The Social Network was based on. Taking their inspiration from his book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal, Fincher and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin wanted to explore the ins and outs of the creation of Facebook. Despite Mezrich claiming the book was not a work of fiction, even though his narrative style of writing pointed in that direction, the truth in the book was called into question.
Co-Founder of Facebook Eduardo Saverin (played by Andrew Garfield in the film) served as Mezrich's main consultant on the book during the time that he and Mark Zuckerberg (played by Jesse Eisenberg in the movie) were embroiled in a lawsuit over Facebook, but he later parted ways with the author when the lawsuit was settled.
The book then provides an interesting blueprint about what may or may not be true about the controversy surrounding the creation of Facebook and who exactly came up with the idea. Was it Zuckerberg? Was It Saverin? Was it the Winklevoss twins? (both played by Armie Hammer in the film). The blurred line between fact and fiction already sets the story up to be much more interesting than anything based on total truth.
Aaron Sorkin proves to be the film's biggest asset. Sorkin is an accomplished writer who has found great success in film (A Few Good Men, Steve Jobs, Molly's Game) and television (The West Wing and The Newsroom). Sorkin's dialogue can turn any mundane occurrence into a moment filled with escalating tension. You're taught in film school that your screenplay should move the action along and not be too dialogue-heavy, but Sorkin is the exception to that rule. There is power in his words, and The Social Network thrives on the interactions between the characters in which each word is being played by skilled pros in a tennis match.
Related: The Social Network: 5 Reasons Why It Should Have Won the Best Picture Oscar
Sorkin has said what attracted him to the story had very little to do with Facebook. It was the story of friendship, loyalty, and betrayal that lured him in the most. These make for powerful thematic elements in films. It's the backbone of the film. While there is some interest in the beginnings of Facebook, most of the audience's attention is going to how seemingly good friends can turn on each other due to greed:
"The invention itself is as modern as it gets, but the story is as old as storytelling; the themes of friendship, loyalty, jealousy, class and power."
That's not to say that Sorkin wasn't interested in the power struggle over Facebook itself. Sorkin has said that he saw an unfinished draft of Mezrich's book before he began writing, and then he created his screenplay parallel to what Mezrich was finishing with his book. Sorkin didn't receive material from the author as he wrote, although they did meet up a few times to compare notes.
The screenwriter didn't see the book until Mezrich was done with it, and by that point, Sorkin was 80 percent done with his screenplay, which made the decision to tackle all three stories being detailed in the lawsuit over Facebook. This became the basis of all the scenes in the deposition room. One story wouldn't stand out as more true than the other. Each story would be told as is, and the audience would be left to decide which version they believed to be true:
"What I found was that two lawsuits were brought against Facebook at roughly the same time, that the defendant, plaintiffs, witnesses all came into a deposition room and swore under oath, and three different versions of the story were told. Instead of choosing one and deciding that's the truest one or choosing one and deciding that's the juiciest one, I decided to dramatize the idea that there were three different versions of the story being told."
With the power of Sorkin's script, the film needed a director to visually turn The Social Network into a must-see cinema, and that person turned out to be David Fincher. Known for such films as Se7en, The Game, and Fight Club, before he tackled the story of Facebook, Fincher didn't seem like the obvious choice to adapt the material.
When you see the film, you find that almost every aspect of the movie is signature Fincher through and through. The film's look is very Fincher, allowing it to transcend being a typical theatrical biopic or based on a true story tale. It's a testament to his power as a filmmaker that he could take a story that might seem pretty standard on paper and completely own the material rather than letting the subject itself take center stage.
Fincher is also known for wanting many takes from his performers, and that has been a subject of debate ever since the director broke onto the scene. In the case of this film, he pulls the very best out of his cast, which led to many accolades for those involved.
Eisenberg earned an Oscar nomination for his dead-on portrayal of Zuckerberg's complicated and temperamental genius. Eisenberg finds the humanity in Zuckerberg and doesn't allow him to become a caricature. There is some sympathy found in him despite the fact that the film didn't hesitate to showcase the damage he had done to others. This is not an easy performance to take on, but Eisenberg shines effortlessly.
Related: The Social Network's 6 Best Scenes, Ranked
Proving very good in their own right are Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake. Garfield showcases the earnestness of Saverin and his willingness to trust his friend while also displaying a rising volcanic explosion of rage once he realizes he has been betrayed. The role made him an instant star, and it's a performance that should've garnered him an Oscar nomination (he was robbed). Timberlake wisely plays on his charisma and charm as Sean Parker, the man whom the film and book view as the person who seemingly lured Zuckerberg to "the dark side." Timberlake had been good in other films before (Alpha Dog and Black Snake Moan), but Fincher allowed him to play to his strengths.
All these years later, The Social Network stands as a solid example of how to tell this kind of true story. In the wrong hands, this could've been a TV movie of the week, but thanks to the offbeat nature of the source material, Sorkin's writing, Fincher's on-point direction, and compelling performances, The Social Network was able to turn a standard story into a riveting motion picture that makes every single of its moments count.
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