Deconstructing Andrew Garfield’s Phenomenal Performance in ‘The Social Network’

Film Under the Spotlight: Examining Andrew Garfield in ‘The Social Network’

The Surprising Success of ‘The Social Network’

In its very premise, “The Social Network” shouldn’t be an entertaining movie. It takes place between boardrooms and college bedrooms, following conversations between unlikeable and unqualified businessmen as they bumble and betray their way into millions. Who wants to sit through two hours of conversations about shares and social media, ending with Mark Zuckerberg becoming the youngest billionaire in the world?

Despite the seemingly dull and odious nature of the real-life story it tells, “The Social Network” became one of the most significant and influential films of the 21st century. Between Aaron Sorkin’s rapid, sharp writing, David Fincher’s characteristically precise directing, and a masterful score from Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the film uncovered the excitement to be found around conference tables and back-end development.

The Heart of the Story

Really, the movie isn’t about either of those things at all; it’s about friendship and betrayal. Though those themes are sculpted in Sorkin’s screenplay and enhanced by Fincher’s directing, it’s up to the actors to ensure the reality hits home. It’s surprising that, amidst so much praise for the production of the film, little admiration was directed towards stars Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield, who portray the heartbreaking dissolution of a friendship impeccably.

When the film was in its early stages, Fincher first took interest in Garfield for the role of Zuckerberg. This idea was abandoned when he met the actor, however, as Fincher found that Garfield had “such incredible emotional access to his kind of core humanity”, as he recalled to the Los Angeles Times. Fincher was looking to cast somebody without this access, so Garfield wasn’t quite right for the unemotional, detached Zuckerberg. Instead, Fincher cast him opposite Eisenberg as Eduardo Saverin.

The Brazilian entrepreneur, who began as Zuckerberg’s college friend, was part of the initial setup of Facebook, but their relationship and business partnership gradually fell apart through a series of betrayals and disagreements. Accordingly, Zuckerberg’s name has been permanently attached to Facebook, while Saverin’s has been largely absent from the cultural conversation.

Saverin may have lost out on Facebook fame to his former friend, but his relative anonymity granted Garfield the space to explore the character in his own right, rather than trying to mimic well-known mannerisms like Eisenberg.

A Unique Approach to Characterization

Garfield spoke with the Los Angeles Times about his preparation for the role, which didn’t involve a meeting with the real Eduardo Saverin, as they didn’t feel it was necessary. He said: “It didn’t feel imperative because Aaron Sorkin wrote this incredibly detailed and idiosyncratic script in which he managed to flesh out a bunch of real people in all their facets, so it was all there on the page. But in terms of doing some kind of mimicry performance, it didn’t feel necessary or important.”

The actor’s decision to avoid mimicry served him well. By looking to find the character, instead, in his own exploration of Sorkin’s script, he cultivated the perfect antithesis to Eisenberg’s unfeeling Zuckerberg and to the generally unemotional tone of the film.

A Nuanced Portrayal of Friendship and Betrayal

Garfield spends the first half of the runtime playing Saverin as caring and naïve, trying his best to be a good friend against Mark’s protests. Garfield’s entire demeanor during the scenes is full of concern for his friend, and for the girls he’s objectifying online, battling internally over how best to help him. Garfield’s harmless, endearing persona remains throughout the early stages of their friendship, prior to Facebook’s widespread success, from dancing over to Mark at a college party to nerdy disbelief at his growing attention from women.

It’s a stark contrast to the Eduardo we see in the court scenes, which are spliced in between the story. When we find the characters sitting in a conference room, Garfield plays Eduardo as dejected and disappointed. When he looks over at Mark, his old best friend, the light in his eyes has gone. It’s this contrast that endears Garfield’s Saverin to the audience. The excitement he once had to begin a business venture with his friend has been slowly extinguished by Mark’s antics and disloyalty, and it’s all the more saddening when delivered through Garfield’s entirely human performance.

An Iconic Performance

Garfield’s descent from a loyal friend and enthused business partner to a bitter enemy culminates with a standout scene towards the end of the film. Court shots are, once more, spliced with a scene that takes place in Facebook’s head office, in which Eduardo learns that Mark has diluted his shares. When they begin talking about the event, Garfield sits facing the camera, with a blurry Eisenberg behind him—he can’t even face his friend. He turns only to deliver the devastating line, “I was your only friend. You had one friend”, before turning back to tell the story, stoic and full of anger.

Garfield’s best moment comes as Eduardo realizes Mark’s betrayal. At that moment, he finally abandons his care for Mark, storming through the office with a facial expression that reflects the distaste he now feels towards his friend. Furious, he slams Mark’s laptop down, delivering his lines with a mix of anger, sadness, shock, and disappointment, both in Mark and in himself for trusting him. In the Facebook office, Garfield delivers the iconic, “Sorry, my Prada’s at the cleaners, along with my hoodie and my fuck you flip-flops you pretentious douchebag”, with so much purpose that it’s been stuck in the minds of Fincher fans ever since.

Then, he leans into Zuckerberg, unblinking, and states, “You better lawyer up asshole, because I am not coming back for 30%, I’m coming back for everything”. His delivery is defiant, almost sinister, the final nail in the coffin of their friendship—Eduardo is done trying to work around Mark’s unfeeling way of business. Instead, he resorts to matching it.

A Standout Performance Ignored

Garfield’s performance as Eduardo Saverin may have flown under the radar around mounting praise for “The Social Network’s” production elements, but it’s equally worthy of acclaim. Placed in contrast with Eisenberg, Garfield actively channels the emotional and the human in his performance, making Mark seem all the more unsympathetic. The real-life Eduardo Saverin may now be a billionaire and entrepreneur just like Zuckerberg, but Garfield isn’t playing that man. He’s playing his own interpretation of Sorkin’s script, one which doesn’t tell the story of Facebook but tells the story of a failed friendship. In a film that could have been just as unemotional as its main character, Garfield provides a more human element.

Keywords: Andrew Garfield, The Social Network, performance, deconstruction