Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning, a dramatization of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, isn’t a bad movie. It’s just… incredibly late.
The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and arrives in theaters Friday, focuses on Carole Cadwalladr, the Guardian journalist who broke the story of how Cambridge Analytica harvested the data of millions of Facebook users and used it to influence the 2016 US presidential election and the Brexit vote. It’s a story that feels both incredibly important and… well, old.
By the time Cadwalladr (played with steely determination by Sienna Miller) began digging into the story, the damage was already done. The election had been decided, Brexit was underway, and the public had begun to wake up to the dangers of social media manipulation. Sorkin, who also wrote The Social Network, seems to recognize this, but he approaches the material as if he’s uncovering a conspiracy that’s still unfolding.
The film is structured as a series of interviews and flashbacks, with Cadwalladr recounting her investigation to a group of academics. It’s a familiar Sorkin device, and it allows him to deliver his signature rapid-fire dialogue and moralizing monologues. But it also feels a bit contrived, as if he’s trying to force a dramatic narrative onto a story that doesn’t quite fit.
The problem isn’t that Sorkin doesn’t understand the stakes. He clearly does. But he seems to believe that simply exposing the wrongdoing of Cambridge Analytica will be enough to incite outrage and demand change. He underestimates the cynicism and apathy of the ruling class, who have already proven themselves capable of weathering any scandal.
In fact, the film inadvertently reinforces this point. The characters who represent the tech industry and the political establishment are portrayed as arrogant, entitled, and utterly unconcerned with the consequences of their actions. They’re so confident in their power that they don’t even bother to hide their contempt for the public.
This isn’t to say that The Social Reckoning is a waste of time. It’s a well-made film with strong performances, and it raises important questions about the role of social media in our democracy. But it’s also a film that feels strangely irrelevant, like a post-mortem on a battle that was already lost.
Perhaps that’s the point. Perhaps Sorkin is trying to tell us that the fight for a more just and equitable society is never over, and that we must remain vigilant against the forces of manipulation and control. But if that’s his message, it’s buried beneath a layer of self-importance and moralizing.
Ultimately, The Social Reckoning is a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked power and the fragility of democracy. But it’s also a reminder that even the most well-intentioned films can be undone by their own timing.