Directed by Aaron Sorkin, ‘The Social Reckoning’ is a film that seeks to inform its audience about the perils of social media, specifically Facebook. Unfortunately the film has failed to either educate or entertain.
A recurring theme is whether people can parse the truth for themselves, or require external guidance. The film fails to explore the theme at any narrative depth, only ever really expressing it through stilted dialogue. Nonetheless it is clear that the film’s mind is thoroughly made up about which side of the debate it stands on. It is terrified of ever allowing its audience to interpret the material set before them. For any given scene a character is inserted to explain what is happening, why, and what we should believe.
The film is in theory a mystery thriller, wherein a journalist and Facebook insider attempt to decipher the cause behind social media’s harms.
To swelling music and at the cusp of the films second act the grand mystery is unveiled… social media rewards content that engenders outrage, a bleedingly obvious statement that has been clear to most for about a decade.
The film does allude to some interesting intrigue, but only ever in passing, perhaps fearing that anything but the most barebones analysis of Facebook may leave movie going audiences dazed in confusion.
The movie stands in stark contrast to its predecessor and companion piece “The Social Network”. Although rife with factual inaccuracies it is a thoroughly entertaining piece, Aaron Sorkin successfully depicts a dynamic and morally grey cast of characters. “The Social Network” could perhaps be critiqued for making Zuckerberg a tad too engaging to watch, making the audience more sympathetic to the man than they were going in.
But if Sorkin intended to remedy these criticisms in ‘The Social Reckoning’ then he has certainly overcorrected. Jeremy Strong’s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg is like a poorly framed photograph, it captures its subject with fidelity but offers no real insight or aesthetic appeal. Zuckerberg functions as the antagonist of the movie, but his utter lack of screen presence robs him of any narrative force, and renders the movie’s central conflict thoroughly tedious. One gets the impression that Strong spent tens of hours pouring through footage of Mark Zuckerberg, and came out with a perfect impression of Mark’s public persona, but no real understanding of the man beneath the mask. The film may have been better off just hiring an impersonator if it had no real intention of giving us any personal or psychological insight into the character.
In fairness, the movie’s leads (Journalist Jeff Horwitz and Facebook insider Frances Haugen), are not without charisma. They may even have been able to carry the film, if it were not for the fact that they have essentially the same conversation over and over across the movie’s 112 minute runtime.
Ultimately, despite the film’s intellectual grandstanding, it has very little to say. This is reflected in the repetitiveness of the dialogue.
‘The Social Network’ may have made for a good 500 word OpEd, but as a feature length film it is insufferable.
★★☆☆☆ The Social Reckoning is in cinemas now.
Photograph: Leah Gallo / Sony