“The Social Reckoning” movie poster
EBAY LISTING / COURTESY
Sarah Rolka , Asst. Features Editor
“The Social Reckoning,” director Aaron Sorkin’s companion piece to his other widely successful movie, “The Social Network,” was released in theatres on Oct. 8. Met with mixed reviews from critics and regular viewers, my two cents are: it was amazing.
The story follows three professionals throughout the three parts of the movie: data scientist and eventual whistleblower against Facebook, Francis Haugen (played by Mikey Madison), at the time an incoming tech (-ish) reporter for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Jeff Horowitz (played by Jeremy Allen White), and the infamous CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg (played by Jeremy Strong). The timeline and various plot points jump between the years 2019, 2020 and 2021, showcasing both the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic lives of these individuals trying to expose the truths about Facebook and its algorithmic consequences as we come to know them: The Facebook Files.
Mikey Madison’s performance as data scientist and whistleblower Francis Haugen was great. Not showstopping, but not bad; not a forgettable portrayal, a great one. Madison has previously been seen in the film “Anora (2025)” and “Once Upon A Time… in Hollywood (2019); both of these performances have allowed her to break through in her acting career. We see her character’s arc throughout the film from a timid data scientist, who works at Facebook as part of the civic engagement team, to a whistleblower against her former employer who gains her freedom from being “sued into small, little pieces.” Madison’s portrayal of Haugen is an excellent example of knowing that, while you believe in your company and that you love working there, your morals will haunt you until something is said. Throughout the film, we see her go back and forth between decisions multiple times, choosing the one that aligns with her morals and what is right for the people who are on the platform. As an audience member, I personally rooted for her security throughout the film. I admire what Haugen did against Facebook, and Madison’s performance portraying it was worth watching.
Looking at Jeremy Allen White’s performance as journalist Jeff Horowitz, I thoroughly enjoyed his acting. I’ve only seen clips of his other widely acclaimed show, “The Bear,” on FX, but his work on “The Social Reckoning” was entertaining and funny at times. He had some quips regarding Madison’s character, Haugen, and her deciding whether or not to share internal documents from Facebook as a direct violation of her NDA. There are others too regarding the state of journalism at that time and silly remarks towards his two interns. One of White’s lines that stuck out to me, due to its absurdity, was from speaking with Facebook’s Teddy Marks, a media relations executive played by Billy Magnussen– “We’re post-government around here [said by Marks]… Please, please let me quote that [said by Horowitz].”
Actor Jeremy Strong’s performance as Mark Zuckerberg–compared to Jesse Eisenberg’s from 16 years ago–I, at least, saw the portrayal of his personality evolve from after “being out of a dorm room for two years” to a CEO still too arrogant to see anyone else as “right.” Strong’s performance reminds me of when Zuckerberg’s Congressional testimony was taking place regarding Facebook, and everyone thought he was a robot – from the way he would take a sip of water to the way he spoke to the members of his trial. Strong’s performance captured those moments through reenactment of the CEO’s robotic demeanor, especially throughout his scenes of rehearsal for his upcoming testimony to Congress.
Throughout the movie, however, it made me think about how the world at large, including myself, has been influenced and sucked into the addictive nature of social media algorithms. I sat there thinking how crazy it was to see the implications of the algorithm on the world as it adopted Meaningful Social Interaction (MSI) to optimize and grow engagement on the platform. Throughout trials where the new algorithm was tested, there were already known flaws within it. Reshares had a 30% higher importance rating than a like on a post; the team at Facebook knew that these absurd and extremist posts were the ones to be reshared the most. Additionally, throughout the film and Horowitz’s research, it was discovered that 65% of people who joined these extremist groups, labeled by government offices as such, were brought there because of the MSI algorithm at Facebook and its other media products.
Overall, “The Social Reckoning” is an amazing commentary on social media’s effects on its users’ lives. From mental health impacts and routines to extremist ideals and groups and so much more, this film helped call even more attention to the role social media plays. Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong all gave strong performances that helped humanize and visualize the severity of these issues for the audiences of the film. Additionally, the film has great timing to come out this year in light of Facebook’s recent lawsuits.
For some further reading and resources on the topic, check out The Facebook Files from The Wall Street Journal.