By Alex McPherson
Less a riveting call to action against Big Tech companies than a glib, self-congratulatory dramatization of forces dragging us into an apocalypse, director Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Reckoning” provides more eyeroll fodder than stirring revelation.
A companion piece to David Fincher’s 2010 film “The Social Network” and based on the 2021 series of Wall Street Journal articles titled “The Facebook Files,” Sorkin’s latest effort zeros in on Francis Haugen (Mikey Madison), a Facebook civics team engineer. Francis is distraught with Facebook’s disregard for user safety and the ways its algorithm funnels people into extremist groups.
Her worries are brushed aside by arrogant (and sexist) execs, including Mark Zuckerberg (Jeremy Strong), who is painted as more of an outright monster than he was in Fincher’s predecessor. He’s an antisocial automaton unwilling to atone for the damage he’s causing humanity if it means making a profit.
Francis reaches out to luddite Wall Street Journal tech and politics journalist Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White), who’s already investigating the company. They gradually form a friendship and sound the siren on Facebook’s actions, risking their lives and livelihoods. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic looms and Donald Trump’s MAGA movement expands — two subjects particularly vulnerable to the throes of misinformation under the guise of free speech.
Nefarious realities are revealed, but “The Social Reckoning,” without Fincher’s involvement this time around, ultimately highlights issues that most of us (except those living under rocks) have been aware of for years. The film comes across as an attempt at being an inspirational underdog story without, well, an actual reckoning taking place at any significant scale.
Sorkin’s heart is in the right place, but “The Social Reckoning” chugs along at a sluggish clip, seemingly afraid to acknowledge the reality of how Facebook (now Meta) has only swallowed up more of our lives since The Facebook Files released. Indeed, although it’s understandable that certain liberties need to be taken for the sake of “entertainment,” the film sands down the darkness of its story for maximum palatability.
Sorkin’s direction replaces the sinister atmosphere of “The Social Network” with pervasive blandness. Numerous scenes are stranded in repetitive, back-and-forth exchanges, relying heavily on rat-at-tat dialogue awash in clichés and contrivances where most characters end up sounding annoyingly similar to each other.
Performances suffer as a result. Francis is a timid, socially awkward, deeply conflicted individual who struggles to reconcile her belief in Facebook’s mission with the reality that it’s destroying minds. Madison shows her range portraying the opposite end of the introversion spectrum from “Anora,” but attempts at sincerity are undercut by Sorkin’s writing.
The screenplay takes a weirdly sexualized approach to her character that highlights friction between the film’s genuine attempts at social commentary with its reliance on outdated, Hollywood tropes. White doesn’t fare much better; he’s buoyed by his natural charisma and chemistry with Madison but thrust into a standard archetype.
Strong gives, by far, the standout performance here as Zuckerberg, yet we don’t even spend much time with him. The film jumps back and forth between the present-day investigation and Mark preparing for a United States Senate hearing years later. His performance — full of intimidating stares and off-kilter attempts at human conversation — almost resembles a Sith Lord from “Star Wars.” There’s definitely fun to be had watching him chew scenery, even if “The Social Reckoning” is far less interested in Zuckerberg’s interiority than in the obvious ways he clings to power.
The main issue with Sorkin’s film is that it cannot balance its grim, relevant subject matter with its insistence on being “clever” and crowd-pleasing. What results is a hodgepodge of snappy, often comedic dialogue awkwardly mixed with attempts at sobering stakes. Characters and dialogue reside firmly outside of reality while the film itself tackles the too-recent history of the COVID-19 pandemic and the January 6th Insurrection.
It’s confused, muddled, and disappointingly forgettable — a worthy story desperately in need of an upgrade.
“The Social Reckoning” is a 2026 drama directed by Aaron Sorkin and starring Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Billy Magnussen, Bill Burr, and Betty Gilpin. The runtime is 1 hour, 52 minutes, and it’s rated R for language. It opened in theaters Oct. 9. Alex’s Grade: C-
Alex McPherson is an unabashed pop culture nerd and a member of the St. Louis Film Critics Association.
