Have you noticed relatives or colleagues becoming increasingly influenced by misinformation online and becoming increasingly spiteful to the point of outright bigotry? This doesn’t stem from a single source, but the Wall Street Journal exposed a big reason the civil harm spread like wildfire with a series of articles known as “The Facebook Files.” The Social Reckoning covers how those files came to light with Aaron Sorkin’s trademark hyper-intelligent, biting commentary.
The biggest problem the film may have is that it is too smart. A brilliantly crafted story that makes digging through files an engaging baseline. Where most projects are driven by a balance of dialogue and action, The Social Reckoning is 99% driven by dialogue. The one percent will not be revealed because I despise spoilers. No other scriptwriter could have taken a story with so little and made it a visual media.
This film would have collapsed in on itself if not for brilliant performances. The cast did the greatest thing that can be said about acting. They made me genuinely feel. Each character delivery landed without exception.
Mikey Madison (Anora) made me yearn for her victory beyond wanting it. She embodied the complexity of someone trying to save something terrible while trying to destroy what made it terrible. Desiring improvement without complete resentment. Between the bombardment of awfulness, her heart is clearly visible. A quirky mouse with shark’s teeth who is very aware but somehow helpless. It is impossible not to love her in The Social Reckoning.
Jeremy Allen White also gives a delightfully layered performance. Both confident in ability and confident in inability. His caring is reminiscent of his award-winning work on The Bear. Flawed but in a way that you can see yourself in the performance, yet not feeling belittled by it. His chemistry with Madison is off the charts magnetic.
Not to be outdone, Jeremy Strong has made a career out of being the uber elite you love to hate in productions, but he has a knack for giving it a genuine baseline which is what makes him so great! He is the monster, but he gives you just enough to see where he is coming from even if that makes the viewer feel a little gross. The desperately holding together genius who also happens to be awful, but socially awkward enough to understand why they are the villain. It is always difficult to portray someone so well known, but Strong disappears in The Social Reckoning and all that is left is Zuckerberg.
The Social Reckoning almost made me want to forgive people while angering me at the real world that turned digital, but it is supposed to. Wunmi Mosaku and Bill Burr remind me that not even some on an evil side want evil. Billy Magnussen reminds us why we don’t forgive the undeserving. Portia Doubleday shows us how drastic a once caring family member can become the worst version of humanity thanks to the social elite.
This film will be beloved by critics, but I worry that the population will take it as an attack because Facebook et al, have become their life. Love it or hate it, The Social Reckoning is required viewing. As someone who read “The Facebook Files,” it saddens me how strikingly accurate this film is and want everyone to see it when it “shares” on October 9th.