The Social Reckoning

I guess there’s a degree of irony in posting a positive review of The Social Reckoning onto social media and praising its pointed messaging.

The ‘investigative journalism thriller’ is always a winner of a genre and this is no exception.

A semi-sequel to the imperious The Social Network (legendary writer Aaron Sorkin is on script duty again and takes the directing baton from David Fincher) we fast forward into modern times (the years either side of the pandemic) and explore Facebook’s descent into a landscape of hate speech, extremist groups and the puzzle of ‘free speech vs. fact checking.’

The film’s stance is pretty stark and Zuckerberg and team are painted pretty broadly as villains here.

Perhaps there’s an argument that this villainy is a little too clear cut and some more morally murky arguments and debate would have been an interesting path to take but what is here is presented as shocking and thought-provoking.

Visually, despite the flashy offices and a brief sojourn to Puerto Rico, it’s not quite as well crafted as Fincher’s film (to be expected) and the lack of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross on the soundtrack is also a shame but Sorkin’s script is again sharp as a razor and it’s hugely entertaining and watchable.

Once again, these sort of office-based, investigative movies are often a delight if you’re so inclined and The Social Reckoning is a worthy companion to its celebrated predecessor and another topical, conversation-starting and startling think piece that is arguably essential viewing for everybody.

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