The Social Reckoning by Alexandre Desplat
The Social Reckoning is a 2026 sequel to the ever popular The Social Network which was written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher. This time around, Sorkin both writes and directs the followup and the score is delivered by Alexandre Desplat. I’ve long been a big fan of Desplat’s work and it was exciting to have a new score for a prestige award tipped film. Reviews of the film have been mixed - I’ll be honest, I really, unexpectedly, loved it - and it will unlikely be a massive awards player now, which is a shame because Desplat does some great work here.
The film starts with the title track, The Social Reckoning, and includes a lovely yet curious percussive beat that runs through this track and much of the score, it’s playful and repetitive. There is something that reminds me of a puppet show for some reason and that ties in which the control over lives that this film explores. The rest of the track is faced paced piano, somber, sweeping and serious strings but subtle moments of brass and further percussion. It’s a face paced track that pulls you into the seriousness of the film and grounds you in a way that supports characters feeling somewhat at sea with the narrative. There is a lovely closing electronic motif on the track that reminds us of the grip technology has on our lives and sets up further electronic elements to be explored throughout the score.
F*** is a four minute track that takes a more serious tone without that playful percussion. It is somber but sweeping strings but with the constant and swift violin undercurrent used to create unease and tension. Those strings become stronger, almost becoming characters within the Facebook cabal that the film explores. Eventually those strings abate and are replaced with a pensive piano that with a very, very subtle string base sounds really quite sinister. The strings become more prominent as the sinister nature of the piano is exemplified where is it almost being thudded to create that sinister atmosphere. This is a great track, really layered and textured that works well within the context of the film.
Two aspects of the title track are revisited in the track Unplug - the quirky percussive motif and the electronic aspect of the score. It’s a jaunty and fun piece of music that remains grounded due to, once again, that skillful use of piano which controls the pace of the track. There is a brilliant repeated motif that sounds like the piano is counting down which is presented with both speed and with a much slower pace, it’s wonderfully effective. The track significantly changes pace toward the end with that memorable piano countdown playing out over slowly plucked instrumentation. The electronic music is used once again in the track Published that is a blisteringly swift piece that reminds me of Desplat’s work on The Queen. That descending piano countdown is used again, at varying speeds, over ferociously swift strings to create a piece filled with pace, excitement and urgency. Likes also sounds like something closer to the first film, which a quirky electronic sound along with a constant steady and thunderous beat that anchors the track which is used in the film to create tension before leading to a dramatic piano flourish at it’s conclusion. This is followed by the shorter but no less effective, Sleepless. It’s a stripped back piano track with some supporting strings which has a music box quality in it’s heart and emotion. Within the film, this explores some of the key moral dilemmas as characters take big moral swings and it adds real heart to what is playing out on screen.
The final four tracks are strong pieces of music. They begin with the tense and propulsive and dramatic Chaos, this is a track with strong orchestration anchored once again by Desplat’s skillful use of piano and knowing when to change the depth and pace of the playing. It’s driven by quick moving percussion with several dramatic flourishes. This is all underscored with an ingrained electronic pulse to represent the influence that Facebook and social media has on our lives - this piece plays over a depiction of the Capital Riots as protesters demanded action over the fraudulent claims that the election in 2020 had been stolen. I find over electronic scores challenging to engage with emotionally, but Desplat find the real balance here, knowing when and why to use that in conjunction with his traditional orchestral approach.
Waiting Room scores the final significant moment between Frances (Mikey Madison) and Jeff (Jeremy Allen White) prior to the congress hearing. It’s a delicate and beautifully hopeful piano piece with some truly lovely strings to celebrate the bond and trust and hope found in the union of these two people, both determined to do the right thing for the right reason. There’s a somber but hopefully cello used in the track which adds real gravitas to the moment in the film, that coupled with some beautiful string work, cannot help but tug on your heartstrings. The conclusion of the track becomes somewhat more sinister as we are reminded of just what a titan they are up against, but this is a great piece of music to enjoy on repeat.
The Lament features vocals by Renee Fleming and while the track works well within the film as it reaches a conclusion, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as an isolated listening experience. It captures, via the vocals, the highs and lows of the film’s narrative and the operatic nature of the story itself. But for me, the music is somewhat dominated by the vocal and I don’t find tha particularly pleasant. That said, repeating myself here, but it is really effective in the film.
The film and the score conclude with the wonderful track 72 Hours. I just adored this piece. The opening, and first two minutes of the track remind me of John Williams’ score for JFK which a rousing and lush orchestral sweep. The following two minutes return to the theme and motif from the opening track with that playful yet sinister percussive motif, once again joined by that skillful piano. It all slowly strips back and fades to twinkling piece concluded by that motif clunking and plinking out of the score. It’s so wonderfully effective. Such a great track to play over the conclusion and credits of the film and it sounds brilliant played just a bit too loud at home.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of Reznor and Ross’ score for The Social Network as a listening expedience - well aware of how well it works within the film - so I was pleased to find something very different with this film. I suppose this isn’t really about the formation of Facebook like the previous film, but about the impact on our lives and the film is really one about truth and journalism. Desplat’s score is very fitting for that narrative and perhaps that is why it reminds me so much of Williams’ JFK. While the film appears to be gaining a mixed reception, there is little doubt that this score from Desplat is one to enjoy.
Favorite Tracks: F***, Unplug, Waiting Room and 72 Hours