In 2026, participation in social media is a necessity for communication and personality. Facebook, launched in 2004, aimed to avoid the anxieties of social interaction and public appearance by streamlining online communication. Despite the apparent improvement provided to many, it was paralleled with a lack of fact-checking in news and reporting, as well as major mental health concerns regarding cyberbullying. These are the topics The Social Reckoning chooses to explore, basing itself on the true story of a Facebook whistleblower. From 2019 to 2021, Francis Haugen (Mikey Madison) leaked internal documents to Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White) during her final years as a Facebook employee. Horwitz, working for The Wall Street Journal, published a series of works titled “The Facebook Files” exposing the company and platform for its negative impact on mental health and algorithmic promotion of extremist groups and ideologies. These leaks created controversy involving the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg (Jeremy Strong), as he is shown preparing for his U.S. Senate hearing regarding these contentious issues of legality. The film chooses to switch between the events of investigative journalism and congressional testimony to examine the polarizing differences in ideology between Haugen and Zuckerberg. Despite their interconnectedness, the little to no interaction shown between the two leaves the story to build tension indirectly and unsuccessfully.

Although the movie has been advertised and promoted as a companion piece to The Social Network (2010), they feel entirely alienated, besides the shared character of Zuckerberg. The direction, writing, and majority of acting are far from compelling, leading to subpar delivery on nearly all fronts. The choice to switch between 2019 with Haugen and 2021 with Zuckerberg feels unique, but is too disconnected to make it necessary or intriguing. However, this film’s greatest sin is its cinematography. Specifically, the lighting and camerawork are incredibly comparable to the concept of “Netflix lighting” that has become a talking point in entertainment. Simply put, the dull and overtly gray lighting, as well as camerawork that feels it was taken straight out of a second-rate HBO Max miniseries creates an incredibly boring atmosphere. These uninteresting aspects only exacerbate the acting performances and their lack of enthusiasm. The cast should be stellar, with Jeremy Allen White and Mikey Madison receiving critical acclaim for their previous performances in the 2020s. Although there is a lot to be loved about these actors, their performances feel uninspired, primarily because of the unauthentic and cringe-worthy dialogue. Francis Haugen, as a character, is incredibly annoying, which only worsens Jeff Horwitz due to his unenthusiastic personality. In all, the story attempts to develop these central characters unsuccessfully due to their lack of relatability and resonance between the audience and themselves.

Regardless of the bland performances, The Social Reckoning has two major standouts in acting: Jeremy Strong as Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Burr as Charlie Garrigan. Charlie Garrigan is a fictional Facebook critic who is shown to conflict with Zuckerberg on Facebook’s approach to freedom of speech as he prepares for his testimony. These moments of friction between Zuckerberg and Garrigan are the highlights of the film, showcasing Strong’s incredible acting skills, capturing a darkly hostile version of the Meta CEO, as well as Burr’s character blatantly poking holes in Zuckerberg’s arguments. Despite these well-executed moments involving their disputes, it does not hide the fact that the rest of the story is lacking in the tension necessary to make it engaging.

In conclusion, The Social Reckoning has brief glimpses of a captivating thriller but cannot deliver itself well as an entire story. The tension is nearly nonexistent, and the attempts to make its development and progression anxiety-inducing are incredibly lackluster and eye-rolling. Although I admire the choice to showcase this true story and the underlying immorality of social media and its creators, the viewing experience is unpleasant to the point that its messages and themes are drowned out by its mediocrity.