The Social Network

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Mum

After Squid and the Whale last night I had a hankering to see this again, so I used taking mum to see it as an excuse.
Apart from the inept staff at Event cinemas who didn't believe me when I told them the film was out of focus because you couldn't even READ the opening titles, fuckers, for some reason what really stood out to me this viewing was the incredibly low light cinematography from the majority of the film. It's an interesting look from the Red camera with the pasty yellow-green light in the majority of the night time party and campus scenes. Re-watching those colour grading extras on the Se7en bluray makes me wonder what other possibilities we haven't tried out yet. Skin tones probably don't look very goon in magenta.

So many invisible effects. I had missed the camera pass through the window of a party on first viewing, a more flashy move that recalls Fincher's Fight Club/Panic Room days although no where near as overstated. The main reason for wanting to watch this again was the rowing sequence and checking the digital face replacement on the twins. Once again, the twin effect is completely seamless. The rowing scene, with those impossible depth of field shots still amuse and I can't wait to hear and eventual commentary about that sequence. I noticed a lot of more of the shots I thought might have been digital were actually just very telephoto, mainly the mid shots of the boats, but there are still those hand full of wide shots that they must have rotoscoped and blurred to give that miniature photography look. Why why why? All that work for something most people won't notice. I must know!

I think my favourite scene is still the chicken. I love how they start off talking about it then later on you can quietly hear it in the background then you catch a small glimpse of it's head bopping in and out of the frame and then finally to button the scene, just a huge great big full frame close up. Bam. I think my anticipation for wanting to see that chicken the first time through was disproportionately high so when that shot came and the scene ended I also laughed out loud disproportionately. This time I kept that in check but it still makes me giggle.

I notice Aaron Sorkin like to have two topics or points being made it his trademark rapid fire conversations at once and then have the lines from point A be answered in the questions from point B, thus causing confusion and back tracking. Makes thing a little dizzying but it's a neat trick. I'm stealing that.

I was trying to listen to the score a bit more this time around because I almost didn't notice it at all the first time. A sign of a job well done I think. I think the pulsing track from the start that goes with the creation of the Facemash website was a favourite.

Andrew Garfield, you are always so sympathetic and I think I will like you more as Spiderman than that Maguire guy.

All in all, loved watching the film again. I was thinking, it's basically the exact same story as every rock star music biopic but just... More interesting. And Entertaining. This is a very well made film.