THE SOCIAL RECKONING
It Wasn’t Always Like This
Friday 9th October 2026
Written by: Tom Wilson
The Social Reckoning follows socially awkward data scientist Frances Haugen, who has been conducting her own research while working a Facebook’s Civic Integrity Team and found something deeply troubling: their own algorithms have been pushing users towards extremist content. Her concerns are ignored by those around her, so she reaches out to investigative journalist Jeff Horwitz, a political reporter with zero technical knowledge who has been tasked with finding out more. Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg is working with a PR team to prepare for his infamous Senate Judiciary Committee appearance, while clashing with a former business partner (a fictional character based off Roger McNamee).
2010’s The Social Network is widely considered to be one of the best films of its era, a hypnotic and propulsive drama that combined Aaron Sorkin’s captivating dialogue with incredible performances and a legendary score by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross. Less a sequel and more of a companion piece, The Social Reckoning sees Sorkin taking the director’s chair from David Fincher, and French composer Alexandre Desplat taking over the music. Under his current contract, Fincher was unable to work on this film, but The Social Network diehards and NINE INCH NAILS fans will still find plenty to love here. Jeff Cronenweth returns as director of photography, and every frame drips with polish, lighting the corporate spaces in cold hues of gunmetal grey.
Aaron Sorkin’s talent for writing engaging dialogue keeps things moving at a pace – the film is just under two hours, but it feels like 90 minutes. Having one of the main characters being a luddite works brilliantly, with Jeff Horwitz acting as the audience surrogate as Haugen breaks down the technobabble. A horizontal slider appears onscreen to shift us effortlessly between time periods, and Sorkin keeps it compelling, as we see Zuckerberg’s “free speech absolutist” attitude get put to the test as rioters start climbing the walls of the Capitol. This is almost a horror film, as we glimpse just how disconnected Zuckerberg seems to be from the consequences of his decisions, constantly shouting down any voice of reason. The performances from Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White are fantastic, and Haugen’s frustrations with trying to explain algorithms to a guy who doesn’t know how to use his car GPS gives more than a few chuckles. Comedian Bill Burr doesn’t have to stray far from his comfort zone when getting into shouting matches, but his clashes with Zuckerberg showcase just how good an actor he actually is. His exasperation mirrors our own, and his insults cut to the bone.
The real-life Mark Zuckerberg was not a fan of how he was portrayed in The Social Network, and he comes off even worse here. Jeremy Strong’s Zuckerberg is absolutely pitiless, but not a robot. During an argument, he admits that he knows what people think of him, and when he mentions that his wife and kids have had to read what people say about him, you might feel a bit bad if you’ve ever joked about his mannerisms. But by the time the credits roll, you won’t have much sympathy for him, particularly if you check your socials right after the screening and see a relative resharing a bogus news article on Facebook. The Social Reckoning is a scathing portrait of a company with more power than the government refusing to be held accountable, which goes a long way to explaining the current state of the world we live in. One of the top comments on the Youtube trailer says it all: “Imagine being such a villain, you get two movies before you actually die.”
The Social Network is in cinemas now.