The Social Network

In 2003, Harvard student and programmer Mark Zuckerberg creates a website that lets students rate one another, and that small project quickly evolves into something much larger. As the new platform expands beyond campus, Mark's technical focus and blunt social instincts drive rapid growth while straining relationships with classmates and collaborators. As the company scales, he faces accusations and lawsuits from former partners and rivals who question how the project began and who owns what. The film follows the rise of the service and the legal fallout that shadows Mark's rise, without resolving every personal consequence.

Released in 2010, the film was directed by David Fincher and adapted from Ben Mezrich's book The Accidental Billionaires, with Aaron Sorkin providing the screenplay. The cast includes Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, Josh Pence, and Justin Timberlake, and the tight, dialogue-driven script reflects Sorkin's stage-influenced style.

The Social Network earned wide recognition during awards season, picking up multiple Academy Award nominations and winning three Oscars, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Aaron Sorkin, Best Original Score for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and Best Film Editing for Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall. It was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor among other honors.

The movie left a mark on pop culture, shaping how mainstream audiences picture tech startups and their founders. Scenes like the deposition exchanges and the confrontations with the rowing twins have been widely referenced, and the film's look at online fame, legal wrangling, and the cost of rapid growth has echoed in later portrayals of Silicon Valley. The score's electronic textures also helped normalize a different sound for big studio dramas.

Critics praised the film for sharp writing and controlled direction, and performances by Eisenberg and Garfield were singled out for their nuance. Major themes include ambition, friendship turned adversarial, and the ethical gray areas that can accompany success in a new industry. The narrative is brisk and often courtroom-focused, so the movie reads as much like a character study as it does a business origin story.