Written by Aaron Sorkin · 2010
Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of Ben Mezrich's book about the founding of Facebook. Won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. A masterclass in dialogue-driven storytelling, dual-timeline structure (the depositions framing the Harvard-era flashbacks), and the rhythmic, overlapping speech that defines Sorkin's voice.
Sorkin opens with eight pages of dialogue between Mark Zuckerberg and his girlfriend Erica. Eight pages. No action. Just talking. By the end of those eight pages, you understand exactly who Mark Zuckerberg is — his intelligence, his arrogance, his loneliness, his contempt — and you understand why he'll spend the next 90 minutes trying to be heard. Read this opening. Then read it again. Then read it a third time. Sorkin doesn't just write dialogue — he writes character through dialogue. Every line tells you something the line itself doesn't say.
INT. CAMPUS BAR — NIGHT
We're CLOSE on the face of MARK ZUCKERBERG. A sweet looking 19 year old whose lack of any physically intimidating attributes masks a very complicated and dangerous anger. He has trouble making eye contact and sometimes it's hard to tell if he's talking to you or to himself. ERICA, also 19, is Mark's date. She has a girl-next-door face that hides a very strong mind and a kinder heart. In the background, we hear other patrons of the bar. MARK Did you know there are more people with genius IQ's living in China than there are people of any kind living in the United States? ERICA That can't possibly be true. MARK It is. ERICA What would account for that? MARK Well, first, an awful lot of people live in China. But here's my question: ERICA Good. MARK How do you distinguish yourself in a population of people who all got 1600 on their SAT's? ERICA I didn't know they take SATs in China. MARK They don't. I wasn't talking about them. ERICA I was. MARK This is interesting. ERICA The ability to do well on standardized tests — MARK Mmm. ERICA — is increasingly important these days. MARK It is. And the people who are good at it are likely to be the ones who can focus and think clearly. ERICA Well I think we should probably talk about something else.