Review: The Circle
A flat and middling adaptation of Dave Eggers' novel, The Circle is meant to be a 1984 for the digital age yet it works neither as cautionary tale nor corporate thriller. It would be unfair to say that its premise won't provoke viewers into (re)assessing the rights they willingly relinquish in order to live their lives on the grid.
Emma Watson stars as Mae Holland, a twentysomething stuck in an uninteresting job and still living at home with her parents (Bill Paxton and Glenne Headley), both of whom wish she would think of her longtime pal Mercer (Ellar Coltrane) as something more than a platonic friend. With the help of her friend Annie (Karen Gillan), Mae manages to land the position of a Customer Experience Manager at The Circle, a powerful tech company whose compound and work culture is not unlike Apple and Facebook, a workplace designed as a community whose grounds one never really has to leave.
Certainly its head and co-founder Eamon Bailey (Tom Hanks) cuts a Jobsian figure, charming his employees with visions of an even better future via the company's latest innovation, SeeChange, a coin-sized portable camera that allows not only for real-time video but data analysis as well. It's a product that builds on its primary creation TruYou, which is a single-identity, one-password solution for all online activities. With SeeChange, transparency can ensure accountability. "Knowing is good, but knowing everything is better," Eamon proclaims to the enthusiastic applause of his audience.
"Sharing is caring" is one of the company's mantras and that connectivity is key in climbing this particular corporate ladder. Mae is called out for not being connected enough - her social media presence is part and parcel of the job as is engaging with The Circle's community and, though of course coming into work over the weekend isn't mandatory, it may as well be for her absence is noted. After running into some trouble, Mae decides to embrace The Circle's ethos of going transparent and agrees to wear the SeeChange all day, allowing everyone in the world to see everything she does. Her decision has consequences - a decrease in communication with her parents, who value their privacy, and something far more irreparable with Mercer.
If only The Circle was as compelling as it believes itself to be. Part of the issue is that writer-director James Ponsoldt takes too long in getting to the main action - this is a film where foreplay should be short and sweet - and once it does get there, the premise reads as ridiculous rather than chilling. Watson seems the right fit for the part yet, as with most of her adult roles, she's not quite there. Gillan makes more of an impression as the overworked Annie as do Headley and especially Paxton, whose character is dealing with multiple sclerosis. Others such as Patton Oswalt and John Boyega as the other two key figures at The Circle may as well have been cut out, so unnecessary are they to the overall grand scheme of things. Hanks, on the other hand, brings a devilish delight to Eamon. It's not the type of character he usually gets to play, but he ably shows how such figures can make their warped and extreme beliefs palatable to the masses.
The Circle
Directed by: James Ponsoldt
Written by: James Ponsoldt; based on the novel by Dave Eggers
Starring: Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, John Boyega, Karen Gillan, Patton Oswalt, Ellar Coltrane, Bill Paxton, Glenne Headley, Nate Corddry
