Mark Zuckerberg is in Aaron Sorkin’s crosshairs once again with The Social Reckoning. This time Sorkin both writes and directs, and the result is a thrilling drama with dynamics reminiscent of great American cinematic tales where a little people’s hero triumphs over the forces of darkness, ultimately testifying on capital hill.
The hero of this story is data scientist turned whistle-blower Frances Haugen, played by Mikey Madison, who revealed to the world Facebook’s tragic 2018 decision to chase profit over public good by altering their algorithm to give maximum visibility to posts triggering intense emotional reactions and, thus, rewarding rage bait, sensationalism, and extreme political content.
The film opens with a roadside car breakdown that ends with an emotionally unhinged right-wing influencer live-streaming a hysterical rant at the non-white police officers trying to help her. We will learn this woman’s fate is the key that spurs Frances’s political awakening.
Enter Wall Street Journnal investigative reporter Jeff Horwitz, played by The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White. He understands little about technology but much about political dynamics, and he’s noticed how the national poltical tone has become more extreme, reactive, and hostile. His instincts point him towards Facebook, and the excavation begins.
The pace of the story is brisk, and there is a physical timeline on the screen that jumps around to help viewers stay oriented as key moments unfurl. One of these is the mock Congressional hearing prep sessions, which serve as the emotional and structural spine of Mark Zuckerberg’s narrative. Played by Jeremy Strong to creepy effect, Zuckeberg resists his aide’s attempt to teach him how to look human, empathetic, and apologetic—and when his advisors push him on radicalization and algorithm-driven division, he repeatedly deflects with nauseating corporate jargon about “connecting people”.
The atmosphere at Facebook headquarters is a character unto itself. On the surface upbeat and filled with promising young talent, but at its core ominous, soulless, and controlling. One of the most chilling scenes speaks volumes to our dystopian moment, driven by tech corporations drunk on power and profit. Teddy Marks, played by Billy Magnussen, is a slick, Facebook media relations executive sent to push back against Horwitz’s reporting. When he learns that Frances Haugen will be testifying before congress, he expresses what we all fear to be true: “Congress to the rescue” he says. “That’s a pretty analogue solution…we’re twice as big as the biggest country on earth. We aren’t frightened of congress. We are post-government around here.”
Well, the film ends in Congress, in all its analogue quaintness. It is a parent dealing with its own national Cain and Abel mythology. One child, courageous and clear-eyed, risking everything to reveal the truth. The other, dangerous and disturbed, fed on lies and distortions and hell bent on destruction, banging down the doors of Congress on a chilly January morning.
For KSQD’s Film Gang: Christine Barrington