The Social Network (2010)

Most people think so. 83% of audiences gave it a thumbs up, by Google's archived audience score. Critics gave it 96%.

In 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programmer Mark Zuckerberg begins work on a new concept that eventually turns into the global social network known as Facebook. Six years later, Mark is one of the youngest billionaires ever, but his unprecedented success leads to both personal and legal complications when he ends up on the receiving end of two lawsuits, one involving his former friend. Wikipedia ↗

The Social Network is a 2010 American biographical drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, chronicling the founding of Facebook and the legal disputes that followed. Jesse Eisenberg stars as Mark Zuckerberg, a brilliant but socially abrasive Harvard sophomore who creates a social networking site in 2003 that rapidly grows into a global phenomenon, ultimately making him the youngest billionaire in history while destroying his closest friendship and embroiling him in lawsuits from former allies who claim he stole their ideas. Aaron Sorkin's screenplay, adapted from Ben Mezrich's book The Accidental Billionaires, was structured around two simultaneous depositions — Zuckerberg being sued by his former best friend Eduardo Saverin, played by Andrew Garfield, and by the Winklevoss twins, played by Armie Hammer through digital face replacement — with flashbacks revealing the events in question.

The Social Network was immediately recognized as one of the defining films of its era, capturing the moment when social media transformed human connection, communication, and power. Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of Zuckerberg as a character of paradoxical qualities — simultaneously brilliant and emotionally stunted, sympathetic and infuriating — was a career-defining performance. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's electronic score won the Academy Award for Best Original Score and established a template for tech-film soundtracks.

The Social Network earned $224 million worldwide and won three Academy Awards from eight nominations. David Fincher's precise, cool direction and Sorkin's rapid-fire dialogue created a film often called the "Citizen Kane of the 21st century."