I am overwhelmingly cautious about Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Reckoning,” which is unlikely to live up to “The Social Network.”
Three character posters have been released—featuring actors Jeremy Strong, Mikey Madison, and Jeremy Allen White—with the tagline “We’re way past making friends.” It appears to be an imitation of the original film’s marketing. The sequel has significant talent behind it but faces an uphill battle escaping comparisons to one of the most acclaimed films of the 2010s.
My main concern is the absence of David Fincher, whose direction, along with Sorkin’s screenplay, was the defining ingredient of the original. There is also no Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composing the score, which played a disproportionately large role in Fincher’s 2010 classic.
Then there is Jeremy Strong replacing Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg. In the released trailer, Strong captures Zuckerberg’s voice and robotic mannerisms but looks too old for the role, and we can’t shake memories of Eisenberg.
Eisenberg reportedly declined to return despite being offered a “blank check,” citing his desire to no longer be associated with Zuckerberg.
Sorkin, who won the Oscar for his “The Social Network” screenplay, will direct this one himself—a shift away from Fincher’s meticulously obsessive visual and framing style. Since then, Sorkin has directed three films—“Molly’s Game,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” and “Being the Ricardos”—and “The Social Reckoning” appears to share the same slick visual style.
Sony Pictures is set to release “The Social Reckoning” in theaters on October 9. The cast includes Strong, Madison, White, Bill Burr, Wunmi Mosaku, and Betty Gilpin.
