The Circle

Robbie K back, after being off the grid for a week. Tonight's review is on the latest "dystopian" feature film called The Circle. Former Hermione Granger, and more recently Belle, Emma Watson leads the film as she attempts to take us into the workings of a technological conglomerate who has knowledge as its key principle. Yet the trailers paint a much darker secret hidden in its stony walls, one that promises to be a real nail biter. Will this movie deliver those thrills, or are we stuck with another wash out? I'll do my best to answer that question, so sit back, and please read my latest thoughts.

LIKES:

• Nice tool development • Emma Watson • Culturally Relevant Film • Solid Moral Lesson

Summary: We all know technology is becoming the heart of the world, if not already the heart of this country. And certainly, we all know that these technological marvels often require laborious development and maintenance to get the bugs out. The Circle portrays this very well, helping to develop the very tool that we all love. Throughout the journey, you'll get to see the development of the two-faced beast that is technology, and how it requires tweaking to get just "right". Not the highest selling point for a movie, but pretty cool.

Of course, we all know many are going to go for the lovely Ms. Watson, to support the super actress they adore. Good news, Watson does a solid job holding up most of the movie, as she is primary the only main character of the film. Watson brings her charm to the screen once more, portraying intelligence, fortitude and inspiration in a manner that many will latch on to. Her accent is pretty sound (though it fluctuates at times), but she manages to deliver her lines with a decent balance of emotion, to sell her points… most of the time.

Yet the biggest strength of these movies is how culturally relevant it is to the audience. If you didn't gleam it from the trailers, The Circle is essentially a modernized version of the novel 1984 that once more addresses the issues of control, life sharing, and privacy. The film is certainly very political, but has a number of powerful lessons to teach about the place of technology and how easily it can be twisted. I myself liked the comments from Emma's followers, a fantastic representation of the shallow, superficial, and often selfish focus that the internet provides. The scenes are well developed to deliver the full emotional punch, which while not the most unique, can really shock you to the core at how true it can be.

DISLIKES: • Cheesy acting at times • Other actors diluted • Missed character development • Ignorant/Idiotic moments • Lack of Suspense

Summary: Despite Watson's strong performance, she is involved in some overly cheesy moments. On many of the emotionally heated moments, she loses her balance and stretches into the overdramatic region, losing her accent and dialogue forte in the process. But even her worst acting doesn't hold a candle to some of the supporting characters who give either emotionally dull deliveries or lackluster performances. These moments are noticeable enough to offset the momentum of the movie, and derailing it from the quality the trailers promised.

An even worse quality for me was how the other actors of the star-studded cast were reduced to simplistic roles. Legends like Tom Hanks, Patton Oswalt and even the late Bill Paxton are reduced to very linear roles, with little character development or expansion beyond what you've seen in the trailer. With such a strong cast, I can't help but feel disappointed at the missed potential of this movie and how much this all-star cast could have done to amp up the quality of this movie.

Even worse, some of the characters, primarily Emma Watson's character, become so blindly ignorant that the intelligence they worked so hard building is diluted to an idiotic level. As a result, I found myself starting to loathe the character and how 180 they took the character. Yes, I understand the premise behind the movie, but it didn't work for me. Other characters also fell into this mix as well, each built to have this incredible skill that was either not used or rapidly reversed to make the characters seem weak.

Yet the most disappointing aspect of this movie…is the lack of suspense. The trailer made this film out to be a mystery meeting dystopian policing. Not the case at all. The Circle has no mystery, laying all the facts on the table and leaving little to be uncovered. You would think there would be intense moments of espionage, or policing by superiors to build up excitement, right? Sorry, this film doesn't have that either, with the "exciting climax" not showing up until the last twenty minutes of the movie. As such, the movie is pretty dull and lacks the entertainment quality you might have been seeking.

The VERDICT:

The Circle is indeed a "scary" film, but it's mainly due to the reality check provides concerning the dangers technology can provide. This strong message is certainly the strongest aspect of the movie and Emma Watson was a fantastic choice to deliver it. Unfortunately, the weak characters, diluted roles, and lack of suspense took away from the entertainment quality of the movie. Such a dull delivery, leaves me recommending this one for renting at home, or at least recommending you read the book (or books) it is based on.

My scores are:

Drama/Sci-Fi/Thriller: 6.0 Movie Overall: 5.0

No wonder the millennials hate this movie. This is not the best movie you'll ever see, but it's better that one would conclude reading all the hate reviews that flooded IMDB. The plot and acting are decent, camera and editing nothing to write home about but bearable, overall slightly better than average movie. The movie tells the story of the generation created to live in a minute, not even a day, manipulated so easily by people and organizations that prey on this mental flaw, or vulnerability, to be politically correct... It's a grim future.

Set in the near future "The Circle" tells a horror story of the social media age involving an omnipotent American corporate, pitched somewhere between being Facebook-like and Google-like (note, lawyers, I just said "like"!) Emma Watson ("Beauty and the Beast") plays young intern Mae who, partly through the aid of family friend Annie (Karen Gillan, "Guardians of the Galaxy", "Doctor Who") but mostly through her own aptitude, lands a foothold job in customer services for the company. With the lush corporate campus fast becoming home, Mae is quickly singled out as having "executive potential" by the charismatic CEO Bailey (Tom Hanks, "Bridge of Spies") and his more taciturn sidekick Stenton (US comedian Patton Oswalt).

Progressively brainwashed into believing the company's intrusive snooping (a favourite motto is "Secrets are Lies") is all for 'the greater good', Mae champions the cause until a tragedy rocks her world and her company beliefs to the core.

Whenever I watch a film I tend to form my own opinion first before checking out what the 'general public' on IMDb think. In this case, I must confess to being a bit surprised at our divergence of views: a lot of people clearly hated this movie whereas I confess that I found it very entertaining. Certainly with the alleged role of Russia in influencing elections around the world via social media, the film is most certainly topical! Many reviewers seemed quite upset that Watson's character is such a 'doormat', in that her views are so easily manipulated by the corporate machine. But not every woman – as indeed every man – can or should be a Joan of Arc style role model in every film: why should they be?

I actually found her indoctrination into "the Circle way" as quite convincing, especially a creepy scene where two corporate lackies (Cho Smith and Amir Talai) say that they're not checking up on Mae's social life, but…. Watson enjoys extending her post-Potter repertoire well, but the talented John Boyega ("Star Wars: The Force Awakens") is completely wasted in his role as Ty; the Wozniak-like genius behind The Circle's technology. The script gives him very little to do other than stand around and look grumpy.

The film is sad in being the last movie appearance of the great Bill Paxton ("Apollo 13") who plays Mae's sick father and who died of complications following heart surgery two months before the film's release (the film is dedicated "For Bill"). Tragically, Mae's mother in the film, actress Glenn Headly ("Dirty Rotten Scoundrels") also died suddenly at the age of 62, also due to heart problems, a couple of months after the film's release. It's surprising the film doesn't have a "curse of The Circle" tag on it.

The film was directed by James Ponsoldt, who also wrote the screenplay with novel-writer Dave Eggers ("Away We Go"). I particularly liked the on-screen use of captioning (posts) which was reminiscent to me of last year's "Nerve", a B-movie film I rated highly that also had a string social media theme.

While the ending of the film is a bit twee – a movie definition of "being hoisted by your own petard" – it's overall a thought provoking piece sufficiently close to the truth as to where society is going to raise the hairs on your neck.

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I was a big fan of Dave Eggers' A Hologram for the King. It was a fantastic read for enjoyment and to analyze. The film adaptation also did not disappoint. When The Circle was announced as a film I immediately checked out the book. To my disappointment, the film wasn't as interesting an got to bogged down to its technological ventures and wasn't exactly the best read. However, I held out hope that the film would be able to impress, especially with the star studded cast at the helm.

Emma Watson plays Mae Holland an ambitious young customer service rep who joins The Circle, a cutting edge technology based company that seems to be growing at fast pace and changing the future. The thing is, the technological leap of the company leads to massive privacy concerns and the company seems to be capable of more than what initially meets the eye. First off, I will say that the scathing reviews I've seen for the film are somewhat unwarranted, however the film is far from perfect and could have been much better.

The plot may seem like its minimal or nonexistent but this wasn't really my concern. I was more concerned with things being introduced into the film that have no real importance later in the film. John Boyega's character is a glorified cameo that seems to just be there as a big name. In the book the character is mysterious has a much larger effect on Mae's life. The ending of the film leaves much more to be desired; there needed to be more explanation onto what the reveal was and anything about repercussions.

The film is littered with talented people but unfortunately the writing and the structure of the film really lets them down. Its a misfire really, and the film needed to be much better and have a stronger central message. I feel like parts of the film and scenes were left on the cutting room floor. The film isn't exactly terrible but its most certainly unfulfilled and really could have left a stronger impression.

6/10

"Knowing is good, but knowing everything is better." Bailey (Tom Hanks)

How much information is too much? The Circle shows in a direct and melodramatic form that the saturation point is here. Mae (Emma Watson) is hired by a tech-centered firm, an amalgam of Apple, Facebook, and the CIA. Their inclusion-full-knowledge mantra culminates in Mae's agreeing to have complete transparency, a Truman Show for our time.

Bailey is the Steve-Jobs guru, whose weekly assembly for the campus is a model of group think and cultism, launching from the newest technology to the newest invasion of privacy. The willingness of the audience to embrace everything from the unethical farming of information to his obviously self-serving anecdotes suggests Jim-Jones cool-aid-audience imbibing.

The film is an attention-getting, absorbing object lesson in neglecting critical thinking.

The film's provocative theme about full disclosure includes the implied dialectic between the common good and privacy. Knowing where criminals are, such as in our sex-offender laws, is good in the case of creeps but scary when innocent citizens are the object.

Two incidents close to the protagonist illustrate the effects of private invasion, one for survival, the other for denying the efficacy. The former is about saving Mae from drowning because of surveillance and the other about the world seeing her aging parents having sex. No one could wish not to have life-saving surveillance; no one could want parental transparency 24/7.

The Circle is frequently simplistic, e.g., having records that allow automatic registration for voting but also require voting, ignores invasion of privacy and personal choice.

None of this polemic completely negates the efficacy of social media and constant contact. However, transparency, the film suggests, invades and makes circus-like a privacy our Constitution implies.

The camera spends too much time on Mae's bland, wondering stare and meaningless conversations that would be better spent arguing the mission of the Circle. At least it's a start toward better regulation of social information both public and private.