A review of the important new film “The Social Reckoning”
In 2010, we had “The Social Network”, an excellent film written by Aaron Sorkin (of “The West Wing” fame) and directed by David Fincher. That picture covered the period 2003-2009 and showed the creation and early growth of Facebook in spite of some legal disputes. “The Social Reckoning” is a kind of sequel and this time Sorkin is writer, co-producer and director. The story in this movie is focused on the period 2019-2021 and describes how the explosive growth of Facebook has been achieved through algorithms which promote engagement and division and have seriously harmed our society and many individuals.
The original film was dominated by male characters, whereas the central role this time taken by Facebook data engineer, so-called “Cassandra” and ultimately whistleblower Frances Haugen, played by Mikey Madison who was so good in “Anora”. She works with “Wall Street Journal” investigative reporter Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White) to the consternation of Facebook founder and “free-speech absolutist” Mark Zuckerberg (this time portrayed by Jeremy Strong (rather than Jesse Eisenberg). As cinema, “… Reckoning” does not have quite the verve and excitement of “.. Network” but, as politics, this is an even more important story which legislators, regulators and judges still have to work out as social media continues to undermine our democracy and blight so many lives.