The Circle

And I thought this cultural obsession with social media and the invasion of privacy was bad now…

Based on the David Eggers penned novel of the same name, The Circle takes place in a near future where technology and social interaction reign supreme while privacy and self worth fall prey to the greater good i.e. the interwoven web of people that surround you both physically and in the digital space. The Circle, a large corporation not unlike Google, Apple, Facebook or any other internet/social media/technology based company out there today, strives in offering the world at large high-end technology and interactivity combined with a competent and unified online structure that makes our world smaller, more connected and more social than ever. Enter Mae Holland (Emma Watson), a new recruit, or “guppy”, in the pond that is the Circle’s workforce that finally sees her dreams realized when she is offered a job as a customer experience representative within the company. What starts off as a perfect opportunity quickly devolves into something more sinister when her everyday life becomes one with the Circle and not much else. Before long, Mae is caught up in the whirlwind that is her new job, garnering attention from both its co-founder, Eamon Bailey (Tom Hanks), and a mysterious unnamed man (played by John Boyega) that seems to be at odds with the Circle as a whole. As her integration into the Circle begins to pull her deeper and deeper into its structured folds, the line that dictates who Mae is, what she stands for and what’s she’s willing to sacrifice for the Circle begins to blur. Now Mae has to decide whether her dream job is worth all the strings attached, or if she’s gone a bit too far into the deep end to survive at all.

First things first, I give this film at least some credit for trying to be something more than what’s presented onscreen, even if the filmmaker’s attempts at expanding and discussing the points brought up in the (far superior) novel end up going nowhere quick half the time. Like the book before it, the idea of constantly being watched, observed, “data-mined” and rated is kind of scary, especially since our society seems to be evolving into something eerily similar to the world depicted here, the only real difference being that a company like the Circle doesn’t exist to fully unify our online activities and technology…yet. It’s an extremely intriguing concept to be sure, but when the filmmakers try to explore the way the events in the film parallel what’s happening in our daily lives, they fall flat on their faces. A lot.

It’s not enough to just bring up the idea that being too transparent or too forthright with our personal information could potentially be a bad thing, it’s the fact that the script lightly touches on these concepts constantly, dedicating one or two great scenes to discussing it all, only to then abruptly stop said discussions, effectively cutting off and hindering any meaningful dialogue we as viewers could have had about the true implications behind these scary ideas. We continuously sign away our rights to privacy and solitude in favor of the next social media blitz or cool app or piece of tech, unknowingly spreading information about ourselves across the digital world where someone else can use that information to their advantage, good or bad. The sad part is that all of us do it, it’s a double-edged sword, and for every amazing new piece of technology or helpful online tool we use, there’s a handful of information being traded in the background, unseen by anyone that isn’t looking. The Circle tries to address some of these lofty ideas – even succeeds a couple times – but whether it be the script or the meager effort put forth by the filmmakers, nothing comes together the way it should, and the overall product settles for being more of a passing glance at the core of what the original novel strives to depict as opposed to diving all the way in as it should.

With such big name stars attached to a project such as this, it could be argued that the best part of this film should stem from their performances, but again, just like the ideas the filmmakers try to float out to you, it comes down to the shoddy execution of it all ruining our fun. Emma Watson is fine as our protagonist, doing just enough for audiences to like and sympathize with her, but not doing nearly enough to avoid turning the often cliché dialogue and expositional heavy conversations she has with her best friend, Annie (Karen Gillan), into anything more than a lazy way at getting some important information across. At best, Watson gives us an every-man character not unlike you or I, perfectly normal and likeable in every way, but at worst, she seems shackled to a weak script that doesn’t do her any favors. Tom Hanks fairs better as the co-founder of the Circle, making his employees – and in turn, us – believe in his ideas and inventions just enough to abandon the feeling of uneasiness we get from it all, but he too comes across as a more cheesy Steve Jobs, just with more mystery and playfulness behind his eyes that doesn’t do much for his character in the long run.

Rounding out the cast is John Boyega, a mysterious yet nerdy character and a bright spot in the cast that shows how fun Boyega can be in a role that gives him next to nothing to chew on, and the late Bill Paxton as Mae’s MS diagnosed father. Boyega is severely underutilized, and from what I can remember about the book, cut down significantly from his role in it, while Paxton does some great work as a father just trying to live the way he and his wife used to before the Circle came to dominate both their lives and their daughter’s. Lastly – and I feel bad even mentioning him – Ellar Coltrane’s portrayal of Mercer, Mae’s ex, is absolutely terrible. He has literally no chemistry with Watson, acts like he’s at a table read, and is given so much on-the-nose dialogue about the implication of what the Circle is doing that I think my eyes were permanently stuck in the eye-roll position whenever he was onscreen.

In theory, The Circle should be a powerfully topical film that delves into the idea of what our society has evolved into, how it’s constantly being shaped by the technology we wield and the information we share, and more importantly, how potentially dangerous this direction can be for our future; but unfortunately, for every interesting and potentially mind-altering idea The Circle tries to bring up and dissect, there’s an equally as frustrating misstep in execution or thought that does nothing more than bring these lofty ideas crashing to the ground. There are a few scenes that stand out in a way that truly gives you the chills as they parallel how close we are as a society to mimicking what’s happening onscreen, but there’s not nearly enough here to make this film anything less than a hollow reproduction of its source material. I think our protagonist describes my thoughts about this film near perfectly when asked about what her greatest fear is: “unfulfilled potential”.