'The Social Network' captures all-American success and excess

There’s a line toward the end of The Social Network where a lawyer says, “Every creation myth needs a devil.”

It’s not hard to find the devil in this film, writes reviewer Sean Clancy in Friday’s MovieStyle section. His name is Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, a 26-year-old billionaire and, if The Social Network is to be believed, a backstabbing jerk.

He’s also the guy you can thank for providing your Aunt Margaret with a place online to post updates on her cat’s health and her frustration with the lack of decent music on the radio nowadays.

It’s easy to see why Zuckerberg and Facebook officials are upset with the filmmakers. Of course, this is a movie, not a history lesson, so looking for the truth up there on that screen isn’t the wisest thing. You’ve got to understand that some of this stuff has most likely been embellished.

But what we have is a film loaded with the things that made America great — entrepreneurial pluck, gobs of money, overnight success and ruthless betrayal. It’s a timeless story and director David Fincher, working from an excellent script by Aaron Sorkin, has captured it well.

Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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