Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Reckoning” has been unveiled to members of the film press, who are calling the follow-up to “The Social Network” a “solid sequel,” “a harsh assessment of [Mark] Zuckerberg” and “a scathing indictment of the current tumultuous state of society.”
Early reactions, with full reviews coming ahead of this weekend’s theatrical release, range from positive to mixed among critics who saw the timely drama early.
“A timely and compelling companion piece to ‘The Social Network,’ sharing more DNA with Sorkin’s ‘The Newsroom’ than its predecessor however,” wrote film critic Tom Chatalbash on X. “[Mikey] Madison and [Jeremy] Allen White are quietly magnetic, [Bill] Burr and [Betty] Gilpin seem born and bred to deliver [Aaron] Sorkin dialogue and [Jeremy] Strong is a ferocious force as Zuckerberg, gliding past sheer imitation with ease. Sorkin’s dialogue still crackles and tears like razor blades, especially as this investigative story reaches its fever pitch delving into Facebook’s murky practices, but it’s far from his best work on the page. His rather flat direction and the film’s listless pacing nearly blunt its overall emotional impact, but this is a story that not only deserves to be told, but is an engrossing investigative journalism film that still manages to land the plane despite some turbulence. It’s a good, just not great film that made me angry, but it should’ve made me furious.”
Other reactions acknowledged that 2010’s “The Social Network” set a high bar for the follow-up, but the new movie still had some bright spots.
“‘The Social Reckoning’, while not the masterpiece that was ‘The Social Network’, still fully engaged me,” wrote Awards Radar editor Joey Magidson. “A slow and steady build leads to a climax that suitably got my blood boiling. Hardly subtle, it works well as a companion piece to Aaron Sorkin’s prior look at Facebook.”
Billed as a “companion piece” to “The Social Network,” the movie dramatizes the 2021 Facebook leak by company whistleblower Frances Haugen and The Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz. “Anora” Oscar winner Mikey Madison and “The Bear” Emmy winner Jeremy Allen White star as Haugen and Horwitz, respectively. The cast also includes Wunmi Mosaku, Betty Gilpin, Billy Magnussen and Bill Burr.
Much of the buzz around “The Social Reckoning” prior to release has been the casting of Jeremy Strong as Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, notably played in “The Social Network” by Jesse Eisenberg in an Oscar-nominated performance. Sorkin originally asked Eisenberg to return for the follow-up project, but the actor rejected the offer because he no longer wants to be associated with Zuckerberg.
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“I just told him I’m moving in different directions in my life,” Eisenberg later told Variety about turning Sorkin down. “I don’t want to be associated with that character, but all of my reasons for not wanting to do the movie have nothing to do with how wonderful the movie is, and will be, and I’m sure is already.”
Sorkin told Vanity Fair that he spent three days trying to convince Eisenberg to return as Zuckerberg.
“I felt like it belonged to him, and he was certainly battle-tested,” Sorkin said. “He simply did not want to be conflated with Mark Zuckerberg anymore, that he has his problems with the guy. He doesn’t like kids coming up to him in airports with business cards that say ‘I’m CEO, bitch’ for him to sign.”
“The Social Reckoning” opens in theaters Oct. 9 from Sony Pictures. Check out more first reactions in the posts below.
From Variety US