The Circle Dvd

The Circle is a 2017 American techno-thriller film directed by James Ponsoldt with a screenplay by Ponsoldt and Dave Eggers, based on Eggers’ 2013 novel of the same name. The film stars Emma Watson and Tom Hanks, as well as John Boyega, Karen Gillan, Ellar Coltrane, Patton Oswalt, Glenne Headly, and Bill Paxton in his final role.

There are similarities between the Circle company in this movie and the famous company Google: the names of both companies are six letters, the names of both end with the letters ‘le’, the shapes of C and G as the logo of both companies (one in the movie and the other in reality ) are very similar, both companies have a large number of cameras in different parts of the world that are constantly collecting information from people without their knowledge, etc. These similarities have led some people to believe that the movie was made in a critique of Google’s fearsome activities in collecting and controlling all the world’s data.

The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, 2017, and was theatrically released on April 28, 2017, by STXfilms and EuropaCorp. It received negative reviews but grossed $40 million worldwide against a budget of $18 million, becoming director Ponsoldt’s highest grossing feature.

Plot

Through her friend Annie, call center intern Mae Holland (Emma Watson) secures a customer support position at The Circle, a tech and social media company. Mae’s long time friend Mercer is less supportive. Mae takes the job, hoping to support her parents, particularly her father who suffers from multiple sclerosis. At a company meeting, CEO Eamon Bailey (Tom Hanks) introduces SeeChange, which uses small cameras placed anywhere to provide real-time high-quality video. Mae rises quickly in The Circle, embracing social networking and meeting Ty Lafitte (John Boyega), who displays suspicion of other, more enthusiastic employees. At another company presentation emphasizing the need for accountability in politics, The Circle’s Chief Operating Officer, Tom Stenton, introduces a political candidate who has agreed to open her daily workings to the public through SeeChange. Mae meets Ty again and he takes her to an area containing the cloud server where all information collected by SeeChange is to be kept. Mae is embarrassed when she realizes that Ty is the creator of True You, a popular Circle product, and she had not recognized him. He tells her that True You has grown out of his control, and its current utilization is not what he intended.

Later, Mae’s mother shows Mae a picture of a chandelier Mercer made from deer antlers. She photographs it and shares it on her Circle profile. The image attracts significant negative attention to Mercer, with people accusing him of killing the deer. Mercer confronts her at work and tells her to leave him alone. Distressed by Mercer’s reaction, Mae goes kayaking at night and the rough waters cause her kayak to capsize, requiring rescue by the Coast Guard. SeeChange cameras recorded her at the kayak premises and in the water, which is how the Coast Guard was able to save her. At the next meeting, Eamon introduces Mae to the crowd and they discuss her experience of the rescue. The kayaking experience moves her to become the first “Circler” to go “completely transparent”, which involves wearing a small camera and exposing her life to the world 24/7. Mae’s transparency damages her relationships with her parents and Annie, as she accidentally shows too much of their lives and they distance themselves from her.

At a board meeting, Eamon announces support from almost all 50 states for voting through Circle accounts. Mae takes it a step further and suggests requiring every individual to have a Circle account, which they can then use to vote. Eamon and Tom approve, but the suggestion upsets Annie. At the next company-wide meeting, Mae says that The Circle believes it can find anyone on the planet in under 20 minutes and introduces a program to find wanted felons in the same time frame. The program identifies an escaped prisoner within 10 minutes, which causes the Circlers in the audience to erupt in applause. Mae uses this successful test to suggest transparency can be a force for good. Mae says that the program can find anyone, not just wanted felons, and someone suggests Mercer. Mae is initially hesitant to use the program to locate Mercer, but Tom persuades Mae to continue. Mercer is quickly located in an isolated cabin where he works on his antler projects. Startled by this, he flees and proceeds to lead those tracking him on a car chase. Those chasing Mercer manage to place a camera on the passenger and driver side windows so the world will see him. He then loses control of his truck because of the people chasing him and intruding on his privacy. Mercer crashes off a bridge to his death because a drone flew into the truck’s path, which horrifies Mae. Three days later, still mourning the loss of Mercer, Mae calls Annie, who has also left The Circle, to her apparent benefit. Mae, however, finds that connection with others helps her cope with Mercer’s death.

Mae returns to The Circle, despite her parents’ pleas. Mae calls Ty to ask for a favor and Ty tells her something that he has discovered. At the next company-wide meeting, Mae explains how connection has helped her recover. She speaks with Eamon, and invites Tom onstage, then invites Eamon and Tom to go fully transparent. She explains that Ty has found all their email accounts and exposes them to the world, as no one should be exempt. Eamon and Tom, clearly upset, try to save face before Tom leaves the stage. Mae reiterates her point of transparency being good, with the support of the audience. She goes kayaking again, untroubled by the drones that surround her.

Cast

Emma Watson as Mae Holland
Tom Hanks as Eamon Bailey
John Boyega as Ty Lafitte
Karen Gillan as Annie Allerton
Ellar Coltrane as Mercer Regalado
Patton Oswalt as Tom Stenton
Bill Paxton as Vinnie Holland, Mae’s father
Glenne Headly as Bonnie Holland, Mae’s mother
Nate Corddry as Dan
Mamoudou Athie as Jared
Jimmy Wong as Mitch
Ellen Wong as Renata
Smith Cho as Gina
Poorna Jagannathan as Dr. Jessica Villalobos
Judy Reyes as Congresswoman Olivia Santos
Eve Gordon as Senator Williamson
Beck as himself
Claudia O’Doherty as High Powered Circler