The Social Network (2010) and The King's Speech (2010)

© The Weinstein Company

There's talk in some parts that The Social Network's triumph over The King's Speech at the Golden Globes is some kind of referendum on the middlebrow melodrama. When I first started cooking up The Underrated List, "middlebrow melodrama" was my initial M. While I wouldn't go back and change my entry now, they -- specifically historical* ones -- hold a special place in my movie going heart.

That said, The Social Network is a better movie than The King's Speech. It's already gone through two backlashes (1. that it's not factual, which I addressed here; 2. that it's sexist, which I would argue is true of the characters but not the filmmakers) and continued apace, surely a noteworthy fact. But the thing that really sets The Social Network apart from The King's Speech is every element is brilliant.

It seems kind of unnecessary at this point to sing the praises of the movie, given the acclaim it's received since its October 1 release, but I'm going to anyway. Most of it should go to Jesse Eisenberg, who I had previously written off as Michael Cera-lite. Confidential to Jesse: I couldn't have been more wrong. I had no idea that you had the depth of character or the talent to play a sympathetic asshole. In your care, Mark Zuckerberg is borderline autistic in his inability to foresee the impact he has on those closest to him, but he's also a ruthless genius who's deeply, deeply sad. And, thanks to Aaron Sorkin, quite quippy.

© Columbia Pictures

Of course, it helps that he's drowning in talent, whether it's Andrew Garfield's Eduardo Saverin (the closest the movie comes to having a moral centre, he's presented as more short-sighted than anything else), Armie Hammer (whose ability to come play the the physically-imposing twins as separate and distinct is a sight to be cherished), and Justin Timberlake's Sean Parker. Up until I saw this movie, I had no real interest in JT, especially as an actor, but now . . . let me quote: "early Facebook President Sean Parker, devastatingly portrayed by Justin Timberlake as a narcissistic clown." That is so true!

Again, though the combination of noted internet hater Aaron Sorkin + David Fincher + Facebook sounds like a recipe for disaster, it's anything but. Fincher's dark Harvard hallways add verve to Sorkin's trademark snappy dialogue, and Trent Reznor's buzzy score elevates the movie to a place that feels raw and modern, edgy in the season of being on the edge of something. Bracing, even. I was going to say that Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter's editing is the only stuff that could give Inception a run for its money come Oscar time, but, since Inception wasn't even nominated (wtf?!), I guess I'll just keep that to myself.

So why does all that make The Social Network better than The King's Speech? Because TKS, for all it's fantastic performances, is nothing more than that: a collection of fantastic performances. Certainly, if Colin Firth doesn't win every award ever I am going to throw a fit, but after that . . . there's nothing spectacular about Tom Hooper's direction or David Seidler's script and, the less said about Alexandre Desplat's score, the better. The Social Network, A; The King's Speech, B+.

*Confession: As I just learned what period piece means last week, I intentionally did not use it here. Turns out that term is reserved for pieces that were written during the period in which they are set. Did you realize that? I thought it was just an alliterative way to call something historical.