Just another average Aaron Sorkin project. I mean average for Sorkin, which is worlds better than nearly any other writer/director. This is essentially a sequel to The Social Network, which Sorkin wrote but David Fincher directed. A movie I highly recommend, but you hardly need to watch it to understand what’s going on in this movie.

The acting is fantastic all around, which is again a tribute to Sorkin’s writing. He gives actors good dialogue to work with, which is the cornerstone to great acting. The two leads, Mikey Madison as Frances and Jeremy Allen White as Jeff Horwitz, are both outstanding. I worked extra hard to keep their scenes together out of the Peetimes because their interactions are the engine that propels the movie.

7:42●●● 95%

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The pacing deserves a special mention. It flows quickly but not so quick as to create a frenetic experience. There’s the proper amount of breathing scenes that give the pace a pulse.

The story is also non-linear, taking place from 2017 to 2022. Sorkin uses an interesting graphical device on screen to show the timeline every time there is a jump. It’s something that would feel at home on a website, but I’ve never seen that particular device employed in a movie. I think it worked well, but I’d be curious to know what others think.

I’m left wondering what story we’ll tell 3-4 years from now about the events of this year as AI progresses. What’s happened in the past few months, and what’s coming in the months ahead, may shape all our lives. If we’re lucky, it will make for a great movie. If we’re unlucky, we’ll be telling this story around a campfire inside a movie theater.

Grade: A

Plot

Frances Haugen, a young Facebook engineer, enlists the help of Jeff Horwitz, a Wall Street Journal reporter, to go on a dangerous journey that ends up blowing the whistle on the social network’s most guarded secrets.