The Circle (2017)

The Circle (2017) A recent graduate student is hired by a large firm called The Circle, run by a charismatic man called Kalden.

Emma Watson is really excellent! There’s nothing wrong with her precise performance, which is as natural as can be. Those who see her as cold and robotic should reconsider. Yes, she says “I love you!” at every turn in the same way as you’d say “Hi! How are you?” but it’s not without meaning. It’s her little mimics, her looks, her raised eyebrows that make her so natural.

The great Tom Hanks is always a pleasure to watch, whatever people say about him. Some will say that this is his worst film. There’s probably some truth in that, but to each his own!

It’s surprising to see Bill Paxton here. I wasn’t expecting him at all!
The sad thing is that this was his last film before his tragic death. What’s more, in this film, he plays someone in poor health. So you might wonder whether he’s really playing a role, or whether he’s really that unwell!

In 1982, Paxton and his friend Andrew Todd Rosenthal formed a little-known New Wave band called Martini Ranch. The band released their only album, Holy Cow, in 1988 on Sire Records. The album was produced by Devo member Bob Casale and featured guest appearances by two other members of the legendary band.

Otherwise, coming back to The Circle, we also find John Boyega, who I think became best known for the last Star Wars trilogy. I haven’t yet seen The Woman King (2022).

As for Karen Gillan, it’s the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy that seems to have propelled her! She was also in Dual (2022), which is rather nice. I haven’t seen The Call of the Wild (2020) or Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).

Well…
Beyond that cast, I’m not going to shower the film with praise, though!
Yes, unfortunately! The subject matter is interesting but very poorly exploited. Everything moves too fast; the characters and the story aren’t fleshed out enough. Even with Emma Watson and Tom Hanks, the film doesn’t take off. The acting, while very good, isn’t enough to save it from the wreckage. The promises of an anticipatory script are not kept.
From time to time, this film becomes rather soporific. If you’ve seen the trailer, it’s much better than the film, as it’s a condensed version of what happens in it. The messages are more than dubious.

The film falls far short of offering a sufficient societal critique of the world of innovative technologies. Yes, there are a few attempts at doing the right thing, but these are often marred by a blurred or caricatured message.

In the end, (forced!) exhibitionism is defended more than freedoms while trying to make it look like a balanced debate.
Incidentally, since sharing seems so virtuous in the eyes of the executives in this film, they could start with their salaries! Fortunes earned having fun with high-tech toys (supposedly cheap, who are we kidding?) while part of the human population is dying for lack of food, care, shelter, or decent work.

This film is not an incredible waste of time, and I’m still glad I saw it. But let’s face it, the characters don’t have too much flavor, and I didn’t really understand their behavior, which changes completely: Mae, the best friend, the guy who made the program, etc. I found this review: “I don’t really understand the characters.”

I found this review: “I’m simply shocked by this pointless ending. Although the subject matter was super promising, I managed to get carried away in a little suspense once or twice, but it fell like a soufflé in less than two sec…” The story doesn’t really make sense, the characters don’t really make sense, and this ending comes slowly and painfully to finish it all off. I thought these people were lobotomized into “The Cercle, c’est la vie!” mode, but, in the end, it’s easier to leave the box with a snap of the finger than to get out your umbrella on a tornado day!

Once again, it’s like a failed episode of Black Mirror. The film’s protagonists are trying to make us swallow that generalized surveillance can benefit… activists! “Against tyrants and terrorists!” Even though all the biggest tyrants on the planet use algorithms like facial recognition to repress activists who challenge their rule.

Spoiler Alert!

There doesn’t seem to be the slightest serious challenge to any of the characters, except for the one who is killed off and whom we don’t really care about in the end because we never get to accompany him in his own life; he’s basically just a poor foil who won’t get his statue.
There are some good moments, such as his arrival at his new job and the delirious encounter with the two lobotomized members of the cult, but there are too many absurd, incoherent moments that lack any logic whatsoever. And the finale, with no idea, no hint of a solution, or even any research, is staggering. What was the point of watching this film?