The Social Reckoning is a sequel that didn’t need to exist. David Fincher’s 2010 hit, The Social Network, said all there was to say regarding Facebook and its creator Mark Zuckerberg. In 2021, Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Jeff Horwitz’s eye-opening series of articles, The Facebook Files, exposed the growing societal and global dangers of Zuckerberg and the systematic corruption of his platform. Suddenly, the story was ripe and ready for another cinematic exposé.

Aaron Sorkin won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for the first film and stated he would not return without Fincher. Due to the director’s unavailability (a binding Netflix contract), Sorkin agreed to direct his own script, as long as the studio agreed to release the film in time for the 2026 midterms; a timeline as important as the film.

Fincher’s picture focused on a socially awkward jerk who wanted to disrupt societal norms. What Mark Zuckerberg created for selfish reasons grew into an empire. The ensuing corruption, deception, and illegalities that would pollute Facebook (all at the hands of its creator) are the crux of The Social Reckoning.

Sorkin’s screenplay (the narrative taken from Horwitz’s book, Broken Code) moves back and forth between the story of the whistleblower who would reveal Zuckerberg’s crimes and the man himself prepping for a deposition while being confronted by a former mentor.

The moments with Zuckerberg (the always intense Jeremy Strong) and his PR team (led by the wonderful Wunmi Mosaku) give the film its fire. Bill Burr is great as the former friend who comes to watch the dumpster fire of his old colleague’s deposition prep. His tête-à-têtes with Strong have that unmistakable Aaron Sorkin rhythm. Burr holds his own against the actor and matches his icy demeanor with a purposeful aggression.

Jeremy Strong has been taken to task for his supreme dedication to the craft, as he immerses himself in every character. This is the struggle with today’s actors. Audiences want likable personalities they can connect to. Anyone standoffish is branded difficult. Strong isn’t in the public eye and such reluctance to live under the lights enhances the strength of his work.

In contrast with Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal in 2010, Jeremy Strong plays a more powerful Mark Zuckerberg; a man who sees himself as king. The actor morphs into an alarmingly on-the-nose representation of a person who would see society fall in the name of big profits. As with his frighteningly accurate portrayal of Roy Cohn in 2024’s The Apprentice, Strong is nomination worthy here. The performance is dead-eyed and calculating, with a dash of humor now and again. As Zuckerberg calls himself a “free speech absolutist”, one marvels at such hypocrisy as the truth about his use of Facebook has long been in the public eye. Strong’s eerily restrained performance stands as the film’s finest.

Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White lead the film’s parallel story. An important cog in Sorkin’s cinematic wheel and both actors are quite good, but their segments fail to find a timelessness to their urgency.

Madison is France’s Haugen, the woman who would feed White’s Jeffery Horwitz the information needed to fuel his articles. The two meet in secret and, over time, Frances (who constantly states that she loves her job and is proud of Facebook’s “mission”) begins to discover how the truth is too overwhelming to ignore.

Madison does quite well, keeping her portrayal honest. Frances doesn’t want to be a turncoat, nor does she wish to be a hero. For much of the film, she is the reluctant participant. Madison doesn’t over-perform in a quest to send the character into sainthood. Haugen is nervous energy and a ball of indecision. Magnetic and understated, the performance is as honest and truthful as the real-life person.

While Sorkin consulted Jeffery Horwitz when constructing the screenplay, the journalist wasn’t involved in the production. Jeffery Allen White crafted the portrait through his own research and matches Mikey Madison’s energy with a low-key determination. Horwitz’s search for the facts isn’t one of harried, beat-the-clock, fervor. Like Robert Redford’s Bob Woodward in Alan J. Pakula’s All the President’s Men, White is patient and soft spoken. Less the crusader and more a man respected for his veracity, the performance is in service to the story and the actor never oversteps.

The Social Reckoning is an important piece and Aaron Sorkin is the type of writer-director to guide such a film. If there is a stumbling block, it is found in the presentation. Occasionally, Sorkin’s direction is a bit too relaxed. There is certainly no need for flash (he is not that kind of filmmaker), but certain moments between Madison and White are too lax, dampening the story’s exigencies.

This is not to say Sorkin’s screenplay is any less impressive. The writer takes care in his crafting of the dialogue. There will be no A Few Good Men– styled grandstanding, only honest conversations in pursuit of truth. Such a studied script is a large part of how The Social Reckoning justifies its existence. The film holds Mark Zuckerberg’s feet to the fire while honoring the hard work of Jeffery Horwitz and the bravery of France’s Haugen. While Sorkin crafts the film as a more controlled experience, the weight of the subject matter is bigger and the impact of the revealed facts should be alarming for everyone. Under the power-hungry hand of Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook continues to harm the world. 

There is power in Sorkin’s message, but unlike the previously mentioned Pakula picture and other great journalism films such as Spotlight and Shattered Glass, there hasn’t been (nor will there be, it seems) any real consequences for Zuckerberg. Facebook continues to reign supreme; keeping its hold on the public while influencing elections, manipulating its users through unchecked falsehoods, and bringing in upwards of $200 billion dollars.

The reckoning never came.

It is the rare sequel that gets away clean. The Social Network had many layers and tentacles of relevance to the world Facebook and its creator were shaping. Sorkin’s picture is equally important, but the matter-of-fact direction won’t send audiences on a mission to delete their Meta accounts. 

The Social Reckoning is a damn good film, but falls just short of catching a cultural spark.

 

The Social Reckoning
Written & Directed by Aaron Sorkin
Starring Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Wunmi Mosaku, Bill Burr, Billy Magnussen, Anna Lamb, Portia Doubleday, Gbenga Akinaggbe
R, 112 Minutes, Sony, Columbia Pictures, Alcon Entertainment