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Already touted as the best movie of the year, I really enjoyed seeing this film last week. Best movie? Well that may be a bit of a stretch… I think the most riveting aspect of The Social Network is the portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg by Jessie Eisenberg. He was quite amazing; deadpan face, a voice devoid of emotion, totally lacking in any social graces and barely socialized as a member of the human race – I really wondered if the real Mark Zuckerberg is or was like this. I mean this character is the geekiest of the geeks and the nerdiest of the nerds.
I think those of us who are extroverted and cognizant of society’s mores think those others like being that way; that it’s a choice to be weird and withdrawn. However, we’re wrong – this movie is an insight into the pain of the outcast, the overlooked and the obvious misfit.
There are lots of ways to draw attention to yourself and most people do it purposefully. For example, it was difficult to determine if Mark’s choice of shorts and sandals in the winter were an affectation ( I think not) or was he just so…., SO unaware? Or I can’t even think of the word or words that describe someone who is not just walking to the beat of a different drummer, he is actually in another band all together.
I love Facebook; it has enabled me to reconnect with old friends and neighbors; it has given me some interesting insights into my adult children’s world and I like playing Scrabble too. lol. I think what I find fun and exciting in Facebook is pretty universal…so how did this great social network have its genesis in the twisted and distorted vision of a young alienated college kid? I don’t know and he’s (Mark) not saying! The movie leads us to believe that basically the first incarnation of what later became Facebook was a website rating the hotness of female students in Harvard and surrounding schools.
Mark’s uncanny ability to write program and his roommate’s ability to write checks ultimately produced the web site that has rocked the world! And made Mark a billionaire and put some big bucks in a few other pockets too because this rise to financial stardom came with the price tag of the lost friendship of the only friend he had, attorney’s fees, lawsuits and a bunch of hangers-on who drank and drugged with his money. And while the booze flowed and the entourage grew larger and larger, he seemed oblivious to the fact that he was losing both control and his partner.
But it was all about the pain; the longing to be with a girl who would accept him for he was; a nerd and a geek and a very brilliant one at that. The website wasn’t a way to meet girls but rather a weapon; a means to strike back at all the girls who over the years had ignored him, humiliated him and rejected him.
There was one particular characteristic that I found oddly refreshing in a shocking sort of way. It was the way in which Mark spoke to people; seemingly unconscious that his words might hurt someone, or that his remarks might be inappropriate. He opened his mouth and what came out was exactly what was on his mind, he never minced words. In some instances, it was his own self-aggrandizement and his complete confidence in his own point of view that kept him from tempering his words, often insulting people with his own knowledge.
Interesting insight into Napster creator, Shawn Fanning and the seduction of Mark Zuckerberg by this high-flying wheeler-dealer Californian.
The last word – Facebook is a raving social network success in spite of Mark Zuckerberg, the most un-socialized persona I’ve ever come across.
Bill Ding and his band of clowns are the security patrol for this blog site. He is a favorite toy from the 50*s. By the way sometimes a blog is just an ego-maniacal stream of conscience.
Pbenjay's Blog 
The King’s Speech or Rather the Lack Thereof
Posted in From My Point of View - Personal commentary on Movies and Books, tagged British Empire Exhibition, Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, George VI of the United Kingdom, Guy Pearce, Jesse Eisenberg, King's Speech, Mark Zuckerberg on January 22, 2011| 2 Comments »
The King's Speech
Saw the highly acclaimed movie, The King’s Speech last night, and even as I write this, I’m not sure what I’m going to say about it. Well let me begin with this; I didn’t think it was as good as I expected it to be. Of course that could be the age-old problem of way too much hype in the media and from your friends before you actually see it. I don’t know what I expected, I just know I didn’t get it.
There were at least two story lines that I thought should have been played out a little more; I know the movie was about Albert BUT really…the whole Wallis Simpson/Duke of Windsor thing could have gotten a few more scenes. It was only in the remarks made by the other characters that were telling about the affair and the effects of it upon the royal family and the nation. Funny thing about it is that growing up and never having read anything about the abdication of King Edward, but knowing about somehow, I always thought of it as some romantic love affair, truly l’affaire de couer. And I guess it was truly a love affair since after all the man DID give away his throne for the divorced and married Wallis. In this movie, however, even with such minimal scenes devoted to it, the relationship seemed sordid, unhealthy and foolish.
The other area where I think the audience was left wondering was in the repeated attempts of the Duke of York to deliver a speech or address an audience. In the fist moments of the film, we see the agonizing efforts of the young Albert fiercely trying to talk into the wireless in his futile attempts to deliver an address to a large crowd at the British Empire Exhibition. This is the first of many painful public humiliations we are witness to during the movie. Each time we are only treated to a beginning line or two and then the scene changes. I do understand that his abortive attempts and gaping silences are enough for us to get the idea that his stammering is excruciating to him, his family and his subjects. BUT – how did he get through those speeches? In some of the scenes it is clear that his throat is almost paralyzed and his tongue completely tied. So what happened? I kind of thought in the first scene that his wife was going to jump out of her seat and take over for him! Well that was before I saw the rest of the movie which consistently reminded the viewer of the strict adherence to protocol the royal family so intensely clung.
And now the good part; Colin Firth is magnificent! His portrayal of the stuttering, stammering, frail, sickly boy grown up into a shy, withdrawing and self-deprecating younger brother to the soon-to-be-king is flawless. He embodies the character, completely. Firth’s ability to go from silence into rage is remarkable as his ability to put himself on-screen rolling about on the floor, flapping his lips, waggling his head and jumping up and down with Geoffrey Rush – the two of them looked like monkeys playing, lol.
Colin’s performance clearly puts him high up in the Best Actor category. Quite frankly, I don’t know who could beat him. A few month’s ago, I wrote a review about The Social Network and I praised Jesse Eisenberg‘s performance as Mark Zuckerberg as nothing less than superbly wonderful (see prior blog: The Social Network). And it was and he surely should be nominated for Best Actor but in my opinion he shouldn’t win because as good as he was, Colin was better and had the more difficult role.
Geoffrey Rush will be nominated for Best Supporting Actor as well he should be; I hope he wins. And certainly NOT to be overlooked is the cinematography, the lighting was so exquisitely natural you forget that it’s lighting.
Final Thoughts: Guy Pearce was smooth and handsome as the Duke of Windsor, unfortunately he was completely obsessed (as portrayed in this movie) with a woman of a questionable background so I no longer think of him as a hopeless romantic but rather a weak spoiled rich boy lacking in character and morals NOT to mention that although it was not greatly emphasized in the movie – he and his Duchess cavorted with the likes of Hitler and that certainly does not put him in any good light. And as an added piece of reality, I had the good fortune to attend the Sotheby’s auction of the estate of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and from the look of his clothes he was not only a dandy, he was tiny one at that.
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