The Social Reckoning
A dozen years after Facebook first launched, becoming ingrained into the lives of billions of users, investigative reporter Jeff Horwitz ('The Bear's' Jeremy Allen White), a technophobe, was hired by the Wall Street Journal's San Francisco office as its tech reporter. Horwitz believed that there was something rotten going on at Facebook that required his style of reporting and after its Civil Integrity team was dissolved, he contacted each of its members via LinkedIn and struck gold when a reluctant but disturbed Frances Haugen ("Anora's Mikey Madison) replied. Haugen, initially a true believer, would throw up a lot of obstacles, but once confronted with Mark Zuckerberg (Jeremy Strong, TV's 'Succession,' "The Apprentice") prioritizing profit over community, she was ready to face "The Social Reckoning."
Laura's Review: B-
The Oscar winning screenwriter of "The Social Network," Aaron Sorkin ("Being the Richardos"), also picks up the directorial reins for a lukewarm follow-up that lacks the adrenaline rush of Fincher's film, but features several solid performances and more than a few chilling moments. The film, which features a literal timeline indicating which year we are in, has been structured to show Zuckerberg being prepped for his testimony before Congress crosscut with flashbacks to Horwitz and Haugen's bumpy teamwork until the two plotlines converge. The film in no way measures up to Fincher's, but it does give us Zuckerberg 2.0, Strong's robotic performance suggesting functional autism, a nice counterpoint to Haugen's social awkwardness, while also flagrant in its entitled arrogance. Allen White brings the same aura of befuddled intelligence to Horwitz we've seen in 'The Bear,' but Mikey Madison does a complete 180 degree turn from her "Anora" role, here a complete nerd, a data scientist suffering from Celiac disease who feels more comfortable behind a computer screen than with direct interaction.
Everything kicks off with a very suspenseful prologue which Sorkin will eventually tie back to Haugen. A police car pulls up to check on a woman broken down by the side of the road, who says she has called for a tow, but is acting erratically and smells of alcohol. The black male officer and his female Latino partner treat her with respect, but Kayleigh (Portia Doubleday, TV's 'Mr. Robot') becomes increasingly hostile, so incensed when told she's being 'let off lightly' she begins dishing racist taunts while claiming white oppression. She also films the entire exchange and posts it proudly on social media, which is where we segue to Frances, shocked at what she's seeing (we'll learn of a personal connection). Frances begins to analyze Facebook data and algorithms, uncovering disturbing trends, but her attempt to ask a question at a town hall is cut off; her coworker, Morgan (Anna Lambe, "Heart of the Beast") warily dodges her and Facebook's media relations guy (Billy Magnussen, "Into the Woods," 2025's "Lilo & Stitch") won't listen either, suggesting she pose her concerns at the next town hall. He's also just warned everyone about Jeff Horwitz, telling them to avoid him at all costs.
Further along that sliding timeline, Crisis PR strategist Raya Akinola (Wunmi Mosaku, "Sinners") is trying to shape Zuckerberg into something resembling a human being, but he is incensed that she's chosen to include Charlie Garrigan (Bill Burr, "The King of Staten Island," unable to be named as former Facebook investor turned critic Roger McNamee for legal reasons) to push his buttons as an exercise. Charlie will repeatedly call Zuck on allowing Facebook to run unvetted political ads while Zuck thinks Charlie's having left hundreds of millions on the table over ethics was the worse offense. Strong's performance certainly evokes Zuckerberg, if not as convincing as his Roy Cohn, but his and Burr's heated arguments are charged, giving the film some much needed heat. Mosaku adds some flair as the PR person unafraid to challenge her client.
Allen White and Madison get into it in a lower key, the nerdy Facebook employee regarding the journalist as 'stupid' because of his lack of technical knowledge, but he remains respectful - and lawful - while dealing with her. Frances resists giving him documents until she realizes her faith in Facebook's ethos has been thoroughly undermined. And when Horwitz's first article is published, even Morgan comes around, recognizing some of Frances' earlier words and providing her with an unpublished report about the effects of Instagram on teenaged girls' mental health. White is less laid back jousting with Magnuson ('My bias isn't because tech isn't taking our jobs, but because they're doing them so badly.') than with Madison, whose character quirks just skirt overkill while burdened with some overt writerly flourishes. Betty Gilpin (TV's 'Masters of Sex,' 'Death by Lightning') is quite funny as the Wall Street Journal's cantankerous San Francisco bureau chief.
"The Social Network" cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth's work isn't as distinctive here, most scenes occurring in darkened hotel and conference rooms and while Alexandre Desplat's score begins with patriotic brass, it is a far cry from Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor's more distinctive Oscar winning one for "The Social Network." Sorkin also takes too long building Horwitz and Haugen's collaboration, wandering off with a side trip to Puerto Rico, and he lays the entirety of January 6th at Zuckerberg's feet as Facebook staff wait for the man to pull Trump's megaphone. The filmmaker achieves a far greater effect with Zuckerberg's statement 'We're not afraid of Congress, we're post-Government around here.' Let that sink in.
Sony Pictures releases "The Social Reckoning" in theaters on 10/9/26.
