Just don't talk to me about Colin Firth and stammering royalty.
In my humble opinion, the best film of last year was The Social Network. It was an incisive examination of how the most significant cultural phenomenon so far of the 21st century came about. Brilliantly written by Aaron Sorkin and shrewedly directed by David Fincher, it was a massive critical and commercial hit, with a Best Picture Academy Award surely just a matter of time and vote-counting.
Alas, it was not to be. A late-runner in the Oscar stakes, The King's Speech snuck up on the inside and bagged four Oscars, including the coveted one for Best Picture. The Social Network managed a respectable three (Adapted Screenplay, Editing & Score) but there were no golden statuettes coming Fincher's way this time.
The King's Speech is actually a decent enough movie - I just never saw it as being the best film of 2010. Still, that was six months ago. Time to breathe out and let go.
Forget it, Phil, it's Chinatown.
Anyway, this column is about trailers and the advance marketing of The Social Network provided one of the very best. In fact, it's my personal all-time favourite and stands up as a work of art in itself:
What hits you straight off the bat are the striking choice of music and images - Scala & Kolacny Brothers performing a choral version of Radiohead's Creep, over a variety of rapidly changing Facebook pages. It's a whole minute before any footage from the film appears...then it's a selection of key scenes and dialogue, grabbing the audience's attention but not acting as spoilers.
The cherry on the top is the perfect strapline to both trailer and poster:
