The 2010 film 'The Social Network' has been hailed as one the greatest films of the 21st century. The story of the invention of Facebook is still, to this day, a relevant cautionary tale. In the years since, Facebook has changed drastically in the way it is used; its original purpose of being a place for college kids to connect has transformed to a political battlefield. Its core demographic has shifted from Gen X to Baby Boomers in what feels like overnight. But this was no accident - in the modern landscape, the use of free speech has turned social media into a hellscape, and anyone with any opinion can share that and, using algorithms, can reach their desired audience in seconds. 'The Social Reckoning' is a standalone sequel that aims to pull back the curtain to expose just how we got here.
The film follows Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White, 'Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere', 'The Iron Claw'), who is working as an investigative journalist targeting Facebook. While the company has never been looked at with a critical eye outside of the tech world, Horwitz is hoping to find out what actually is happening inside Facebook HQ. Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison, 'Scream', 'Anora') works at Facebook as engineer, and when contacted by Horwitz is hoping to go off the record to reveal just how Facebook's algorithms work. While Haugen's intent is to use this an opportunity to make the social network better, she soon realises just how much damage the social network is doing and wants to blow the system up. All of this while CEO Mark Zuckerberg (Jeremy Strong, 'The Trial of the Chicago 7', 'The Gentleman') is taking a firmer and firmer stance not to censor free speech on his platform.
'The Social Reckoning' is already at a disadvantage without David Fincher as a director. Without him, the film simply fails to be as engaging as its predecessor. While the narrative is interesting, director Aaron Sorkin does not have the directing skills to make this a captivating watch. Like 'Network', the film deals with multiple timelines between 2019 and 2021, but the film doesn't trust its audience enough to understand what year we are in. The film feels the need to constantly tell us when we are, with a literally timeline moving forward or rewinding on the bottom of the screen every time we jump. It's a small thing, but a prime example of how the film doesn't have the chops to sink its teeth into the story.
'Reckoning', at best, is a Netflix level retelling of the 'The Facebook Files', a fine encapsulation of the events, but not a worthy theatrical experience. In another world, it's a weak season of 'American Crime Story'. The film also suffers because it's too recent. While the story broke in 2021 - five years ago - Facebook hasn't changed; it's still a hellscape, and in many ways has gotten even worse. There is currently no resolution to this, and we don't really know how Facebook responded to the Wall Street Journal article. I understand that's part of the point - there is no winning here - but when you have a movie that doesn't want to say anything, it makes for an unengaging film. The film's core focus is on how the algorithm works through the lens of politics, but it fails to even mention the president at the centre of this.
SWITCH: 'THE SOCIAL RECKONING' TEASER TRAILER
'Reckoning' also wants to tackle too much but nothing at the same time. It brings up the bullying that takes place, practically with teenage girls, across both Facebook and Instagram, but that's all the film does - bring it up in brief instances. It feels like an afterthought, a side note and we know that it does but that's all we have to say. Every message the film is trying to make is not a revelation, nor does it really have anything to say about free speech or how social media is still being used especially in politics. It's a recount of events, not a gripping exposé.
The film opens with a white lady drunk on the side of the road approached by cops asking her if she needs help. She begins filming and accusing them of attacking her and profiling her because she is white, even hurling racist remarks at the officers. This is posted on a Facebook group, before we learn it was one of Haugen's friends who was radicalised by Facebook. When don't see her again until she shows up at the insurrection. This is the only time we see what content is being posted on Facebook and the effect it has on people. While yes, we the audience know this is happening constantly across all social media, it's just another example of how little the film is interested in diving into this topic. Everything is extremely surface level; if you aren't someone who is online, it will make you feel like this is an isolated incident and not something the platform is inundated with.
While performances are strong across the board and the story is interesting, 'The Social Reckoning' leaves no impact. It's a reel on Facebook you would swipe past, or leaves the impact of an unskippable ad. It also presents you with the answered question of just what is Mark Zuckerberg's Reckoning? The 2010 film 'The Social Network' has been hailed as one the greatest films of the 21st century. The story of the invention of Facebook is still, to this day, a relevant cautionary tale. In the years since, Facebook has changed drastically in the way it is used; its original purpose of being a place for college kids to connect has transformed to a political battlefield. Its core demographic has shifted from Gen X to Baby Boomers in what feels like overnight. But this was no accident - in the modern landscape, the use of free speech has turned social media into a hellscape, and anyone with any opinion can share that and, using algorithms, can reach their desired audience in seconds. 'The Social Reckoning' is a standalone sequel that aims to pull back the curtain to expose just how we got here.
The film follows Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White, 'Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere', 'The Iron Claw'), who is working as an investigative journalist targeting Facebook. While the company has never been looked at with a critical eye outside of the tech world, Horwitz is hoping to find out what actually is happening inside Facebook HQ. Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison, 'Scream', 'Anora') works at Facebook as engineer, and when contacted by Horwitz is hoping to go off the record to reveal just how Facebook's algorithms work. While Haugen's intent is to use this an opportunity to make the social network better, she soon realises just how much damage the social network is doing and wants to blow the system up. All of this while CEO Mark Zuckerberg (Jeremy Strong, 'The Trial of the Chicago 7', 'The Gentleman') is taking a firmer and firmer stance not to censor free speech on his platform.
Every message the film is trying to make is not a revelation, nor does it really have anything to say about free speech or how social media is still being used especially in politics. It's a recount of events, not a gripping exposé.
'The Social Reckoning' is already at a disadvantage without David Fincher as a director. Without him, the film simply fails to be as engaging as its predecessor. While the narrative is interesting, director Aaron Sorkin does not have the directing skills to make this a captivating watch. Like 'Network', the film deals with multiple timelines between 2019 and 2021, but the film doesn't trust its audience enough to understand what year we are in. The film feels the need to constantly tell us when we are, with a literally timeline moving forward or rewinding on the bottom of the screen every time we jump. It's a small thing, but a prime example of how the film doesn't have the chops to sink its teeth into the story.
'Reckoning', at best, is a Netflix-level retelling of 'The Facebook Files', a fine encapsulation of the events, but not a worthy theatrical experience. In another world, it's a weak season of 'American Crime Story'. The film also suffers because it's too recent. While the story broke in 2021 - five years ago - Facebook hasn't changed; it's still a hellscape, and in many ways has gotten even worse. There is currently no resolution to this, and we don't really know how Facebook responded to the Wall Street Journal article. I understand that's part of the point - there is no winning here - but when you have a movie that doesn't want to say anything, it makes for an unengaging film. The film's core focus is on how the algorithm works through the lens of politics, but it fails to even mention the president at the centre of this.
'Reckoning' also wants to tackle too much but nothing at the same time. It brings up the bullying that takes place, practically with teenage girls, across both Facebook and Instagram, but that's all the film does - bring it up in brief instances. It feels like an afterthought, a side note and we know that it does but that's all we have to say. Every message the film is trying to make is not a revelation, nor does it really have anything to say about free speech or how social media is still being used especially in politics. It's a recount of events, not a gripping exposé.
The film opens with a white lady drunk on the side of the road approached by cops asking her if she needs help. She begins filming and accusing them of attacking her and profiling her because she is white, even hurling racist remarks at the officers. This is posted on a Facebook group, before we learn it was one of Haugen's friends who was radicalised by Facebook. We don't see her again until she shows up at the insurrection. This is the only time we see what content is being posted on Facebook and the effect it has on people. While yes, we the audience know this is happening constantly across all social media, it's just another example of how little the film is interested in diving into this topic. Everything is extremely surface level; if you aren't someone who is online, it will make you feel like this is an isolated incident and not something the platform is inundated with.
While performances are strong across the board and the story is interesting, 'The Social Reckoning' leaves no impact. It's a reel on Facebook you would swipe past, or the impact of an unskippable ad. It also presents you with the answered question of just what Mark Zuckerberg's reckoning is.