Sorkin takes the director's chair

Aaron Sorkin, who wrote The Social Network, now directs its sequel The Social Reckoning. Before his involvement, David Fincher was in talks to direct but ultimately did not take the job.

A reporter and an engineer team up

Wall Street Journal writer Jeff Horwitz, played by Jeremy Allen White, investigates how Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg encouraged amplification of extremist views before the two thousand twenty election.

Frances Haugen becomes the source

Frances Haugen, a Facebook engineer on the civic integrity team, helps Horwitz. Played by Mikey Madison, she initially offers minimal information but grows disenchanted as she uncovers the company's practices.

The story spans years and elections

The film opens in two thousand nineteen with Horwitz joining the San Francisco bureau and wraps with publication of his Pulitzer-winning multi-part two thousand twenty-one expose the Facebook Files.

Zuckerberg sits for a mock hearing

Jeremy Strong plays Zuckerberg in Congressional hearing scenes with a crisis specialist trying to make him likable.When asked about promoting hate groups, Zuckerberg says: We're a corkboard.We don't control what people pin to it.

“We're a corkboard. We don't control what people pin to it.”

Madison anchors the film

Mikey Madison's Frances Haugen, who suffers from neuropathy and wears leg warmers in chilly San Francisco, becomes the movie's conscience. Her scenes with White are the film's best, anchoring Sorkin's dialogue-heavy story.

Old-school journalism in the digital age

Sorkin's film argues that thorough, ethical journalism follows old rules even in the digital age. Cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth, who shot The Social Network, gives the picture a handsomely polished look.

The film moves faster than expected

Despite Sorkin's professorial approach and dense script with frequent time shifts, The Social Reckoning moves along briskly. The runtime slips by faster than viewers might have expected from the director.