Starring: Emma Watson, Ellar Coltrane, Glenne Headly, Bill Paxton, Karen Gillan, Tom Hanks, John Boyega, Mamoudou Athie, Patton Oswalt, and more.
Directed by: James Ponsoldt Screenplay by: James Ponsoldt and Dave Eggers Based on the Novel by: Dave Eggers Cinematography by: Matthew Libatique Music by: Danny Elfman
Premise: Thanks to a friend, Mae gets a chance to interview at the prestigious company The Circle. A social media giant, The Circle is pushing for 100% transparency across the world. As Mae embraces the culture of her new employers, she begins to see that total transparency can cut two ways. Her willingness to share all inadvertently affects others around her in negative ways. Are the company's and her own ideas going too far? (Rated PG-13)
Review:
1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: A lot of new and familiar faces appear in this film. Emma Watson does a great job as Mae. Her suffering and helplessness with regards to her father's illness really came across. Her open-eyed eagerness to embrace the ideals of the company, even as she scoffs at some of the directions they are heading in, were very well done. Tom Hanks and Patton Oswalt were slick as the company's leaders. Karen Gillan as Mae's friend Annie brought several angles to the tale as well as a lot of energy. John Boyega as Ty proves yet again that you can be alone in a crowd and not just when you're by yourself. :P Major kudos to Bill Paxton and his portrayal of someone with MS.
2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The film had tons of subtle special effects. The cool compound for The Circle when viewed as a whole. The user interfaces for the different pieces of software. The frames around the visuals to make the scene look as if it were being viewed through a camera. And let's not forget all the neat pop-ups on the screen as you'd see on your phone screen. A lot of the comments were fun all on their own. (Some a little freaky too!) :P
The section with the kayak in the dark, the fog, and the ship came out very well. The medical software was cool as well.
3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: This type of story can go terribly wrong, but luckily they treated it right. Both sides of the question were evenly weighed. Thus allowing the audience to see the pros and the cons rather than the film just picking a side and making the movie preachy or heavy handed. As with all power, the question that must always be asked is "who watches the watchers?". Anything powerful enough to make a difference always runs the risk of being abused. The film is quite thought provoking.
4) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Lots of lovely cinematography, especially of the Bay and The Circle compound. Tons of different sites in California were used to create the illusion of The Circle. There were some beautiful beach shots for our intro to one of the men controlling the company.
Conclusion: Good, thought provoking film. Both sides are shown evenly, leaving the audience to draw their own conclusions.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)
