The Circle

The Circle is very much a plea for the preservation and sanctification of privacy, but it’s nicely constructed in that no one character expresses the film’s distinct point of view.

The Circle is a tonal mess: part satire, part moralistic melodrama. Some of it is broadly acted, some of it subtle, much of it overheated. It has great moments, though.

The novel is at its most trenchantly funny when depicting the exhausting nature of virtual social life, and it’s in this area, too, that the movie gets its very few knowing laughs. But it’s plain, not much more than 15 minutes in, that without the story’s paranoid aspects you’re left with a conceptual framework that’s been lapped three times over.

It’s a movie that desperately wants to be timely and relevant, warning us about the Brave New World threats we all face when it comes to privacy, surveillance, and freedom. But it’s so cartoony and ham-fisted it sabotages its own argument.

Ponsoldt—who also directed The Spectacular Now and The End of the Tour—has a great feel for intimate conversation, but he’s all thumbs when it comes to The Circle’s attempt at stylized allegory.

Has a lot of good ideas and a few engrossing sequences, but it never quite finds a groove, or even a mode, and it ends in an abrupt, unsatisfying way.

It's a paranoid thriller without suspense, urgency or a single new thing to say.

I went into this film without any expectations and I was pleasantly surprised by how much i enjoyed it, it's a modern take on the Truman Show and corporate life in a big company, perhaps like google/apple whilst exploring modern themes of a big brother type society, lot of twists and turns and unexpected events, the progression and depth of the story telling was really intriguing.

Despite an uneven plot, choppy direction and an inconclusive ending, the circle still manages to just about give audiences an entertaining film.

Despite a message film, an average! A book based film. Pretty much set in the present world scenario. The world where the internet, the social media is controlling people. If any revolution must take place, that's none other place than the virtual world. So a young woman who worked hard to get a job in a leading tech company, starts her life anew. At one end, aged and seriously ill parents, and the other end, making an unexpected leap in the workplace lead her to be a celebrity overnight. But it's only going to change her life forever, but how is to know, one must watch the film. It was an Emma Watson's film. Tom Hanks was is an important role, but Watson led the show. Nice theme, but predictable storyline. I indeed guessed the end, which spoiled my watch. Slightly an awareness film too. Not all the technology can make life better, but sometimes opposite. Particularly, the film highlighted the privacy issue, how important it is for everyone. And at a same time, transparency too can bring a major change in society. But it all depends on the people and their professions. Surely not to be missed, despite you enjoy it or dislike it. 6/10

Emma Watson plays Mae, a twenty-something who lands her dream job at "The Circle," your not-so-subtle Apple/Google/Facebook knockoff with sinister ulterior motives. Something feels wrong about the corporate campus from the very moment she arrives, but that doesn't stop Mae from mindlessly embracing the new gig and, quickly, ascending to lofty status as a global mouthpiece for the CEO (Tom Hanks in a Steve Jobs Halloween costume) and his underhanded cronies' narrow agenda. As a protagonist, Mae is infuriatingly naïve and compliant. She's the proverbial horse-led-to-water, shown the dark side of the company's aspirations and then, against all sense of reason, doubling down on her support for the new evil empire. With a little nuance and a better understanding of metaphor, this might've served as a decent Twilight Zone wannabe. Instead it's heavy-handed and preachy, forced and unfocused, with a blunt approach to morality that's more after-school special than Rod Sterling hypothetical. Flat, inept and simple-minded, it trips over its own feet in a feeble attempt to hit its misguided talking points. When it was all said and done, I felt like I'd been lectured by a loud, uninformed aunt on social media. I want to pat these filmmakers on the head and then back away.

The Circle. Oh boy. What starts off as an interesting premise quickly devolves into boring and predictable schlock. The elements that are not boring or predictable are completely baffling. Seriously, some plot elements are remiscient of "The Room." This isn't helped by the fact that this movie features some truly terrible performances from Emma Watson and Tom Hanks. There were even some unintentionally hilarious scenes that reminded me of "The Wickerman." There are some okay ideas that are brought up, but overall the terrible execution really decimates any messages this movie had.