*****
The Social Network
Director: David Fincher.
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake
Some movies are slow-burners. Some build on solid opening acts. And some simply explode into life from the very first frame. It is the latter scenario, blissfully, that applies to the Facebook parable, The Social Network, a movie that leaps into life in scene one, and doesn't stop racing, twisting, chopping and changing, until the credits roll after a deliciously woozy 121 minutes of pure ache and pleasure. But it doesn't visually boom and aurally bang in the way that bedevils so many of its contemporary Hollywood blockbuster cousins (yes, we mean you, Iron Man 2). Instead, and as is totally appropriate to the story of the tricky creation of the world's premier social networking site, and of the broken friendships and subsequent legal actions that followed, it is a movie of razor-sharp intellectual fireworks mixed with deep human emotions.
Thus, the motor-mouthed Harvard anti-hero Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg, never better) sets the pace from scene one, drowning out the studio-fanfare with a rapid-fire meditation on everything from Chinese IQ levels to college fraternities, to the apparently lacklustre future that awaits his patiently attentive girlfriend, the lower-rung Boston University student Erica Albright (Rooney Mara). Unimpressed by these condescending musings, Albright rightly dumps him on the spot. Typically, the scene both sets the dizzying tone for the movie to come, and establishes the motivation for Zuckerberg's invention - he rushes back to his dorm and, full of spite, creates a misogynistic campus website called "Facemash" (where women are rated for their looks), which is a crude precursor of his next idea, "The Facebook", which eventually, somewhere in act two, becomes the Facebook site that the world embraces and that inspires two bitter lawsuits which bookend the entire drama.
Of course, none of this is chronological. Instead, from the pen of Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing), writing at his best amid a whirl of flashbacks and flashforwards, and from the lens of the director David Fincher (Fight Club) - at 48, hitting something of a career high - we get the classic story of a lonely man consumed by his own genius, but one that is told with the greatest formal élan and in the most contemporary of settings (think "Citizen Kane 2.0"). In this, the dramatis personae are all indecently fascinating, and flawlessly played - Andrew Garfield as Zuckerberg's only friend Eduardo Saverin, and Justin Timberlake as the overly confident internet entrepreneur Sean Parker, deserve special praise for wearing their roles with such ease.
And yet, the surprising kick with The Social Network is its sheer heart. For this is a movie that cares for its version of Zuckerberg, even as he alienates those closest to him.
It's a film that distrusts social networking itself, and questions the motivations of a man who put distance into friendship in the name of the same. But mostly, it works as a film precisely because it is a monumental movie about our time, and one that asks an age-old question about the price of success.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
more from Janine di Giovanni
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
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'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
Rating: 1/5
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
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Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
India Test squad
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Vijay, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
If you go
The Flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Johannesburg from Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively. Economy return tickets cost from Dh2,650, including taxes.
The trip
Worldwide Motorhoming Holidays (worldwidemotorhomingholidays.co.uk) operates fly-drive motorhome holidays in eight destinations, including South Africa. Its 14-day Kruger and the Battlefields itinerary starts from Dh17,500, including campgrounds, excursions, unit hire and flights. Bobo Campers has a range of RVs for hire, including the 4-berth Discoverer 4 from Dh600 per day.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Abaya trends
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.
New Zealand 57-0 South Africa
Tries: Rieko Ioane, Nehe Milner-Skudder (2), Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Ofa Tu'ungfasi, Lima Sopoaga, Codie Taylor. Conversions: Beauden Barrett (7). Penalty: Beauden Barrett