Our Review

           Movie: THE SOCIAL RECKONING

                     Rating: R, Language

                           Length: 1:52

              Release Date: October 9, 2026

JEANNE: Sixteen years after director David Fincher gave us THE SOCIAL NETWORK based on a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin, Mark Zuckerberg, played with steely panache by Jeremy Strong, is back with his behemoth social media empire in writer/director Sorkin’s THE SOCIAL RECKONING. Known for his whip smart dialogue, Sorkin’s latest endeavor does not disappoint.

 

Recently hired by the Wall Street Journal, investigative reporter Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White) knows next to nothing about tech, but he’s about to get quite an education. In an attempt to get a big scoop, Jeff sends hundreds of letters to mid-level Facebook employees and after a frustrating period of no responses, one finally reaches out.

 

Her name is Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison), a brilliant engineer who was initially enamored with Facebook’s original ideas. But now, Frances recognizes that some of her company’s policies are potentially very harmful, especially for children, mental health and now even democracy.

 

Jeff and Frances rush against time, risking their careers to expose what they know --- in a multiple part series in the WSJ known as “The Facebook Files”. Though repeatedly telling Jeff how much she loves her job at Facebook, which in the interim becomes Meta, Frances accepts her status as a whistleblower to give Jeff’s story as much credibility as possible.

THE SOCIAL RECKONING is a corporate thriller par excellence boasting an amazing cast. White, Madison and Strong are all superb, with Strong remaining in character as Zuckerberg throughout the entire shoot. After innumerable hours spent researching Zuckerberg’s every move, it’s unnerving how much Strong embodies his persona.

 

Sorkin’s supporting players are equally astonishing. Wunmi Mosaku portrays Crisis PR strategist Raya Akinola, a much different role from her Oscar-nominated one last year as Annie in Ryan Coogler’s hit SINNERS. Her job is to prep Zuckerberg for his upcoming Senate hearings, and she doesn’t take crap from anyone --- including Zuckerberg.

 

Billy Magnussen shines as Teddy Marks, part of Facebook’s Media Relations --- and a thorn in Horwitz’ side. Comedian Bill Burr gives a terrific performance as Charlie Garrigan, a former close colleague of Zuckerberg’s --- and now a rabid critic, who recently published a devastating op-ed in The New York Times about Facebook, much to Zuckerberg’s disdain.

 

THE SOCIAL RECKONING is a timely film, especially with the midterms around the corner. It certainly doesn’t paint Facebook and Zuckerberg in a flattering light --- nor should it. The film ends with the exposure of Meta’s role in January 6th. If only Sorkin had continued on to show Zuckerberg’s total fealty to this current, outrageously corrupt administration.

 

OPINION: SEE IT NOW!

DAVID: THE SOCIAL RECKONING, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, the brilliant writer behind THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010), is essentially an indictment of Meta, formerly Facebook, and its billionaire founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Perfectly cast as the head of Facebook is Jeremy Strong --- widely known for his role as Kendall Roy on the HBO series “Succession”.

 

Most of the film showcases Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Jeff Horwitz (a powerful performance by Jeremy Allen White) working together with Frances Haugen (marvelously portrayed by Academy Award-winner Mikey Madison), a mid-level Facebook engineer. She was a fervent supporter of Facebook and Zuckerberg until she realized the algorithms were targeting children and people with mental health issues. Ultimately, she appears as a whistleblower to testify before a Senate subcommittee regarding their findings. Wunmi Mosaku, Betty Gilpin, Bill Burr and Billy Magnussen all contribute greatly with important supporting roles. 

Zuckerberg’s primary policy has always hinged on allowing everyone to post whatever they wanted on his platform --- of course, in the name of free speech. But without safeguards, particularly fact checking, many posts can and do create serious social damage. Some may even call it carnage.

 

As the movie shows, Zuckerberg ultimately closed down the live video postings of the uprising --- although he hesitated for what seemed an eternity. However, he subsequently has insisted on no fact checking at all, including political campaign ads. Such is the gist of this complex film.

 

 

The clips from the deadly insurrection of January 6th --- alternating with Haugen’s testimony --- are riveting. As Sorkin has stated, THE SOCIAL RECKONING is “not about red or blue. It’s about a problem we all have together”.

 

OPINION: SEE IT NOW!