THE CIRCLE – Rated PG-13 – 1 hr. 50 mins.
“Knowing is good, but knowing everything is better”
Starring Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, Bill Paxton, Ellar Coltrane, Glenne Headly and Patton Oswalt
Directed by the man who brought us THE SPECTACULAR NOW (2013) and THE END OF THE TOUR (2015) – James Ponsoldt – and based on the novel and screenplay by Dave Eggers, we venture into the life of young and rising Mae Holland (Emma Watson), who has just secured a new job in the high tech world of THE CIRCLE, thanks to her bff Annie (Karen Gillan).
As Mae starts to acclimate herself into this new world of “full disclosure” at THE CIRCLE, it seems everyone on staff knows everything, about everyone, and not sharing EVERYTHING about your own life is totally frowned upon…
Seeing no better way to fit in, than to become engrossed in this new age of constant surveillance, Mae starts to share her life with THE WORLD, which in turn end ups alienating her from her best friend Mercer (Ellar Coltrane) and her parents Bonnie (Glenne Headly) and Vinnie (Bill Paxton) too, as they aren’t feeling this type of life is suitable, or ethically moral in their minds…at all!
As this world of high tech communication begins to cloud Mae’s mind, and her process for rational thinking too it seems, a grim situation unfolds, jolting Mae back to reality! Now it seems the only way to stop the founder of THE CIRCLE Eamon Bailey (Tom Hanks) and his invasive attack into every aspect of our lives, is place full disclosure on him, allowing us all to see what lies beneath the surface of this technical genius…
I give THE CIRCLE a rating of WAIT AND CATCH THIS FILM ON DVD OR NETFLIX! It pains me to rate a film with one of my favorite academy ward winning actors – Tom Hanks – like this, but THE CIRCLE just isn’t worthy of anything more. Watson’s performance is average, along with Headly’s too, and although it was nice to see Paxton on the big screen, after his untimely death this year, between the subpar cinematography and the drawn out and sometimes painfully slow delivery, this film just doesn’t play out High-tech in any way for me. Although, in its defense, the subject matter of us living in a world of full disclosure – and our every move being tracked in one way or another through our interaction with our “friends” in the internet, isn’t as fictitious as some of us would like to believe. Plus the entrancement factor of how we become so engrossed in technology, and dispelling those reprecussions in our lives that occur because of it isn’t too far off either. All In all, THE CIRCLE feels like a cross between the WORLD OF GOOGLE portrayed in the film THE INTERNS and the second coming of Steve Jobs, as Hanks plays his role totally “Jobsque” the whole way through, leading me to feel like I’ve experienced this film pretty much in it’s entirety before…
Kathy Kaiser
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 