Before AI slop and doomscrolling, The Social Network (2010) shone a spotlight on the murky, deceptive and ruthless world of social media. Directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, the film dramatised the early days of Facebook and its ambitious founder, Mark Zuckerberg. Sixteen years on, Sorkin is taking over directing duties for The Social Reckoning, a stand-alone sequel inspired by the events that gave rise to the 2021 Facebook Files reports by Wall Street Journal writer Jeff Horwitz.

Mikey Madison stars as Frances Haugen, a Facebook employee who discovers a connection between algorithms on the social media platform and the rise of right-wing fringe groups in America. She brings her findings to Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White), a journalist investigating the company, and the pair prepare to expose one of the most powerful platforms in the world. At the same time, Zuckerberg (Jeremy Strong, taking over from Jesse Eisenberg) prepares to face a US government investigation, as his creation begins to stoke the flames that would lead to the January 6, 2021 Washington insurrection.

Whereas Fincher’s film dissected the mindset of a cultural disruptor, Sorkin investigates a modern-day empire. His film is split across two parallel stories – Haugen’s whistleblowing, and Zuckerberg being confronted by a former mentor as he prepares for his deposition. The dialogue in both halves really shines. Sorkin’s writing is as sharp as ever and gives the cast plenty to work with though the oddly upbeat ending does seem out of step with the movie’s message.

However, Sorkin passionately holds the tech giant to account for doing nothing while misinformation and extremism run rampant on the social network. This comes to a head in the third act during a heart-in-mouth sequence where Zuckerberg observes the January 6 riots unfolding. It’s the high point of The Social Reckoning and makes the movie’s argument about the dangers of social media hard to ignore.

This sequel stops short of brilliance though. When The Social Network was released, Facebook had around 600million users. Today, it has more than 3billion and Zuckerberg is a household name. It means that most who buy a ticket are already well aware of the events the movie covers and understand how damaging social media has been (although perhaps not to the extent that Haugen lays out). As such, this feels more like a postmortem than an exposé.

Madison and White make for an interesting duo, with Madison’s brilliant, anxious informant consistently chastising Horwitz for being “stupid”, but forming a bond that convinces her to be the lone voice taking on a global giant. White plays Horwitz as an outsider and a tech Luddite who turns up late for a meeting because he didn’t know how to work a sat-nav. Both are sarcastic and dryly funny but also prove that those fighting the good fight aren’t necessarily flawless heroes; they are simply the ones brave enough to do something about perceived wrongdoing.

Wunmi Mosaku and Bill Burr are brilliant as the people trying to appeal to Zuckerberg’s humanity, but it’s Strong who steals the show. As the Meta mastermind, he plays Zuckerberg like a king. He’s used to his every word being obeyed and becomes outraged if anyone dares to question him.

Strong goes beyond that to find the holes in his façade, revealing a man who has spent years being hailed as a genius only to suddenly come face-to-face with accountability. The real Zuckerberg always dismissed Eisenberg’s version of him as fictional. He’ll likely be even less flattered by Strong’s rendition. However, as an examination of the businessman’s place in history, the Succession star nails it.

The Social Reckoning is not the same instant classic as its predecessor but it is a fine follow-up that places the role of big tech at the heart of many recent headlines. See it, then tell everyone on social media how angry it made you.

Details

  • Director: Aaron Sorkin
  • Starring: Jeremy Strong, Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White
  • Release date: October 9 (in UK cinemas)

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