The Circle adapts the 2013 novel that follows the ordinary Mae Holland stuck in a temp customer service position till her friend Annie scores her an interview with tech conglomerate The Circle, a tech company marrying the concepts behind Google and Facebook. Mae gets a job at The Circle of course and soon discovers the company's latest innovation is a small spherical camera that can broadcast live video from anywhere. Mae quickly rises through the ranks and makes the decision to become totally transparent in her everyday life by wearing one of these cameras on her person at all times after a life-changing event (except for when she uses the restroom, so you don't worry about that unsettling idea).
If that idea doesn't strike you as frightening, I don't know what will and that's where The Circle falls flat on its face. The Circle had plenty of potential to be a terrifying tech thriller offering commentary on current social media trends. For proof of this all you have to do is look at the talent working behind it with an indie director on the rise James Ponsoldt and an all-star cast including the likes of Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, Karen Gillan, Patton Oswalt, and John Boyega.
Unfortunately, that's just not the case considering The Circle was a chore to sit through. James Ponsoldt's direction allows the most charismatic actors working today to come across as mundane and bland, largely due to the lifeless script these actors were provided. The narrative flow is an incoherent slog and every-time the story appears to chart a more interesting course, it goes in the opposite direction. The film's ending doesn't even have any resolution and finality to it. I don't mind an open-ended finale but this one just doesn't work.
On-top of that, the dialogue is atrocious and basic social interactions between the characters feels forced. For example, Tom Hanks' character Bailey showcases some sketchy innovations and hardly a single person in the crowd has any qualms whatsoever for what I'd consider to be a very controversial advancements. They applaud and laugh at almost everything he does like trained monkeys regardless of whether his comment warranted a laugh or not. There's no conflict in a movie that centers around a incredibly controversial topic. Oh, and I haven't mentioned that Ponsoldt even co-wrote the screenplay alongside Dave Eggers, the author of the source material, so it's not like Ponsoldt didn't have someone working with him that understood the fundamental ideas of the book. Circles normally have arcs but Ponsoldt and Eggers must have forgotten rudimentary geometry when penning The Circle's screenplay because the characters certainly don't have any.
My grievances haven't even touched the uninspired cinematography and messy editing that plague this flick, and if you're looking to the talented A-list cast to be the saving grace of this movie, you better look elsewhere because they two are trapped in mind-numbingly mediocre roles. The performances are okay but that's rather pathetic for this accomplished ensemble and it's clear most are in it for the paycheck. Emma Watson's Mae Holland remains The Circle's center in what I consider her dreariest turn yet, while Tom Hanks, Patton Oswalt, Karen Gillan, and John Boyega are relegated to The Circle's circumference with almost nothing to do whatsoever.
Hanks is the more significant presence of the bunch as a twisted Steve Jobs but even he is degraded to a few scenes. Boyhood star Ellar Coltrane is really the only actor to turn in a bad performance among the ensemble. Coltrane's Mercer comes across as whiny and obnoxious due to the soporific script and poor direction and as a result, his character fails to strike the emotional chord the screenplay was aiming towards.
I feel it's worth mentioning that the recently passed Bill Paxton plays Mae's father Vinnie, a character diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and actually gives a great performance with the screen time provided. Paxton may not show up much but he put forth a seemingly accurate portrayal of someone with M.S. and it really bummed me out to see his final film performance be attached to something so forgettable.
In conclusion, The Circle is the wasted potential of such a compelling contemporary concept that's downright dishonorable to the esteemed ensemble involved. I guess The Circle succeeded in resembling it's namesake as a flat and hollow doldrum, except that it's not very well-rounded.
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