Living ‘Social’

Based in part on Ben Mezrich’s dubious 2009 “tell-all” The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal, David Fincher’s lauded The Social Network is new on DVD this week. The drama follows Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg from his nerdy freshman year at Harvard along his controversial journey to success as a billionaire and the current king of social media. When Zuckerberg is approached by twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss to program an online version of a collegiate “facebook” for them and their uppercrust Harvard socialites, Zuckerberg takes the idea and launches one of the most successful dot coms of the decade. Many lawsuits followed including some with people who claim to have been great friends with Zuckerberg before Facebook began. Scripted by Aaron Sorkin, and starring Zombieland’s Jesse Eisenberg as Zuckerberg and Justin Timberlake as Napster founder Sean Fanning, The Social Network is a cross-examination of greed, ambition and capitalism circa the post-Millennial Aughts. Andrew Garfield, Rooney Mara and Rashida Jones co-star. Rated R.