New Release: The Social Reckoning
Honestly, if you had told me Bill Burr was the standout performance in The Social Reckoning, I probably would've laughed and given you a "You serious, Clark?" look.
But alas, you all know I will call 'em as I see 'em, and I don't know if it was because he was obviously speaking for the audience in his moments, or because he was playing against someone who conveys zero emotion or likability. But Burr's character is the only one showing the proper amount of disgust and emotion one feels watching this follow-up to 2010's The Social Network.
The Social Reckoning, directed by Alan Sorkin (known for The West Wing and The Social Network's screenplay), is a fast, disturbing, yet sanitizing look at what Facebook (now Meta) has become since it was created in a college dorm and used to insult women. The movie jumps between 2019, when Frances Haugen (Facebook's whistleblower) starts to notice unnerving trends in Facebook content, and 2021, when Mark Zuckerberg prepares to testify before Congress right before The Wall Street Journal publishes its "Facebook Files" exposé.
What works: the story is intriguing and, as I said before, disgusting and unnerving, which makes it highly rewatchable because of the amount of information thrown at the audience. Granted, that assumes the audience wants to know more about how manipulative these social platforms are and have been in society. Also, the performances are pretty great. I did point out that Burr's performance stood out to me, but that doesn't mean Jeremy Allen White or Mikey Madison's performances weren't good. If you're a fan of Sorkin's fast, sharp, albeit pretentious writing, you'll enjoy the snappy, sometimes humorous dialogue.
What doesn't work: But that said, Sorkin has a reputation for coming off as smug, which turns some off. He also makes a better screenwriter than director, especially when dealing with the film's dark subject matter. The opening scene feels a bit over-the-top and cringy, and when it comes to the effects on teens, you get a fairly sanitized view of the impacts. The film and audience deserved to be delivered a gut-punch when dealing with said topics of radicalization and children's mental health. The audience would've been better served with more visceral moments than fast, witty dialogue. The true impacts get overshadowed by the amount of information tossed at you in those 112 minutes. Also, I'm a big fan of Jeremy Strong, but playing Mark Zuckerberg doesn't give him much to chew on. Zuckerberg is notoriously stiff, robotic, seemingly highly autistic, and unlikeable, so unfortunately Strong's scenes are fairly dry and easy to overlook.
Overall, the film is good, not great, but definitely worth a rewatch or a deep-dive look into WSJ's articles. 3.5/5
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