Films › Editing
The Social Network
Directed by David Fincher, 2010
Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall cut a dialogue film at a pace usually reserved for action, holding two timelines and two depositions in parallel. Overlapping speech across cuts keeps the momentum without losing information. The regatta sequence uses tilt-shift photography and a driving score as a deliberate rhythmic break. Sorkin's script is fast on the page and faster on screen because of the assembly. Baxter and Wall shot on the film with Fincher's characteristic overage, dozens of takes per line, which gave the cutting room the freedom to select for micro-timing rather than settling for the cleanest take, and that surplus is what makes the overlapping dialogue feel spontaneous rather than scripted. The deposition cross-cutting also functions as a structural clock, letting the film compress years of legal proceedings into scattered fragments without ever losing the audience's sense of where each scene sits chronologically.
What to watch for
Watch the opening bar scene and the deposition cross-cutting for how exposition is kept moving.
This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.
Affiliate disclosure. Links on this page are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Occupy Cinema earns from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Read the full policy.