The Social Reckoning – A Movie that will reignite debate about algorithms and misinformation

If Aaron Sorkin writes it then it must be worth seeing – that’s the principle from which I entered the cinema to see his latest look at Facebook sixteen years after “The Social Network” showed us the drama surrounding the formation of Facebook. The Social Reckoning is far more relevant to the social networks we see today, dramatising the famous Wall Street Journal reporting on thousands of leaked documents from the online giant.

It’s hard to call this a sequel really, because it doesn’t in any way require the viewer to have seen the original – this movie is as much about our current world of misinformation and social algorithms driving people into topical rabbit holes.

A strong cast is led by Mikey Madison, who plays Frances Haugen, the key character in those 2021 Facebook Files, the whistleblower who exposed thousands of documents from her time working in the civic integrity team at Facebook. This nerdy Coeliac sufferer battles with her love for her job, her passion for the social connectivity that Facebook brings to people perhaps less socially inclined – alongside her concerns that people – including someone she knows – are being drivin down rabbit holes of extreme views thanks to decisions made by Facebook over its algorithm.

Jeremy Allen White is the non-technical tech reporter on the Facebook beat for the Wall Street Journal, while Jeremy Strong stars as Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Strong’s Zuck is first class, sitting and standing with the look of a steel rod up his back, his strange delivery of lines mimics the modern Zuckerberg quite well; while Sorkin’s vision of Zuckerberg is certainly different to that of The Social Network sixteen years ago.

I have to say Bill Burr’s appearance as “Charlie” was one of the most impressive of them all. While not explained in the film – Charlie is a former Facebook investor and Zuckerberg confidant which I guess is all you really need to know, but Burr plays it so well in a continued shift from his stand-up persona into the big-screen which he’s doing very well.

While it’s not a documentary, it certainly comes across that way, and you’d imagine Sony Pictures would have required almost all of the detail about the whistleblower and the documents to be spot on to avoid any legal issues with Facebook (now known as Meta).

Sorkin layers his dramatisation and iconic scripting around that challenge well to give you an enjoyable one hour and fifty minutes or thereabouts.

Most average Aussies will leave the cinema thinking about the people they know who have had their views changed, or radicalised by social media, and at the same time wondering just how wild it is that advertising on Facebook goes through no checks or balances before it hits your screens. We’ve all seen the rubbish ads, and we’ve heard stories – frankly the Social Reckoning’s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg seems utterly believable to me given the stark lack of action from the company over scams and misinformation in advertising.

More than anything, The Social Reckoning will stir that pot of public discourse more than ever – and that’s a good thing.

Sadly, nothing much will change.