From the opening scene, it’s clear something ugly lurks in this film, and that something is wrong with how those moments in our lives exist in the social media environment. The Social Reckoning is inspired by journalist Jeff Horowitz’s book “Broken Code’, and his experience breaking the story that became the Wall Street Journal’s Facebook Files. Listening to The Facebook Files from The Wall Street Journal before seeing this film was a good primer. It’s more substantial in terms of the information contained in the files than watching the film. It filled in the depth of information in the papers leaked by Francis Haugen that Sorkin sacrificed for narrative sake in the film. And this works out fine. The writing is sharp with a bit of ironic humor. Mikey Madison as the former Facebook data engineer turned whistleblower Frances Haugen, shares tense moments with Jeremy Allan White as Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horowitz, as she battles doubt and fear.
Jeremy Strong seems immersed in his role as a petulant Mark Zuckerberg in tense scenes with a legal team played by Wumni Mosaku, Patrick Fischler, and Bill Burr that are a powder keg as the Facebook Files are released and the January 6th riots break out. The story jumps back and forth in time between 2019 and 2021 with few questions about the timeline and enough suspense to stay engaged. What’s forward in the narrative is a snapshot of the mood around social media at the time and radicalization; the instances of radicalization that Facebook’s algorithm contributed to. The radicalization of former staff against the company after witnessing the company’s inner workings. And radical ideas like letting powerful users get away with rule-breaking because of their status, misleading the public, and knowing all the harm Facebook contributes to while remaining a consumer of its products.
Is it in fact a reckoning? If a reckoning is a time of judgement and consequences, then the film is almost what its title suggests. Some of FB’s practices and decisions were exposed by Haugen and Horowitz via the Facebook Files. The cost to the company is still being tallied (fluctuations in usership, trust, legal settlements, regulation). While the leak of these internal files was a blow to their reputation, Meta’s Facebook and Instagram still top social media apps. Meta is still worth almost $ 2 trillion (NASDQ). Zuckerberg, $256 billion according to Forbes. Their $5 billion FTC penalty was the highest in history for a company’s consumer privacy violation, but it hasn’t knocked them off their industry pedestal. And content is still less friends and family and more reels and AI algorithm suggestions. The Social Reckoning feels dated as it lacks a fully realized reckoning, or much conversation beyond its algorithm, about Meta’s AI ambitions. It may be more memorable for viewers unfamiliar with the detail of the leak and The Facebook Files.
Whatever viewers think of FB may be confirmed, contradicted, or totally ignored in The Social Reckoning, although this seems less the point. It may be a reminder to question the integrity of our information and its sources and the commodification of our engagement. And it is a compelling and entertaining thriller looking at the whistleblower and journalist whose exposure may still bedevil Meta.
This film is in theaters October 9th. I rate this film (3/4) 🍿
