The Social Reckoning is being called a follow-up to The Social Network. Both were written by Aaron Sorkin, who directs the new film in place of David Fincher—but the two films feel like two completely separate projects on the same subject, even with the same writer.
While The Social Network was a stylish character examination of Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, played then by Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Reckoning—with an older Zuckerberg now played by Jeremy Strong—wants to be an investigative journalism movie à la All the President’s Men. Let’s just say Fincher was far more successful with his undertaking.
The lack of involvement by Fincher and, especially, Eisenberg makes this film feel disconnected. It’s a completely different vibe, and the filmmaking in general lacks style.
While The Social Network boasted Zuckerberg as the central character, he’s a supporting character here, with Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White taking the majority of screen time as a Facebook whistleblower and investigative journalist Jeff Horwitz. The two do decent-enough work, but the proceedings lead up to a big nothing and an abrupt ending that just doesn’t hit like Sorkin intended. Also: There’s no awesome Trent Reznor/Atticus Finch score. The movie feels flat.
The subject feels a bit played out. Yes, the news about Facebook having algorithms that seemingly pushed people toward hate groups is shocking, but this movie somehow makes it all a bit boring; a strange back-and-forth timeline further muddles the message.
Also, Strong is just not compelling as Zuckerberg. It’s more of an angry impersonation than a nuanced performance.
The Social Network was a cinematic event. The Social Reckoning feels like made-for-TV moviemaking.
