We live in an increasingly interconnected world, and at this
point it’s pretty clear there’s no going back (at least until the impending
apocalypse occurs, then we’re all on our own). As society grows more Orwellian,
it stands to reason that artists will continue to create stories that sift
through exactly what the changing face of technology means for the people living
with it. The conflict between security and privacy is a subject worth
exploring, so hopefully future filmic efforts will be less clumsy and
ham-fisted than “The Circle.” The film daintily dips its toes into the
discussion but fails to offer up any real insight, coming across like the
direct descendant of alarmist cyber-thrillers, like “The Net,” that were so
popular in the mid-90’s.
Here, Emma
Watson is Mae, an idealistic, recent college grad who lands her dream job at a
Facebook-Google-Apple-esque tech corporation called
The Circle. Its founders (Tom Hanks and Patton Oswalt)
preach utopian ideals of technology fostering human connection (Hanks uses his
trustworthy, nice-guy demeanor to great effect, and he’s the best part of the
movie). Mae buys into the company’s cult-like atmosphere, rising up the
corporate ladder until she’s eventually agreeing to “go transparent” by
appearing on camera 24/7 and broadcasting it over the Internet.
Allowing
complete strangers to observe every moment of her life without any barrier — save
for three minutes of alone time designated for bathroom use — ends up
alienating her parents (GlenneHeadly
and Bill Paxton, in his final film performance) as well as her off-the-grid
friend, Mercer (“Boyhood” star Ellar Coltrane in, I’m sad to report, an abysmal
performance). And before long, it seems *gasp!* that there may actually be a
downside to dismantling one’s sense of privacy. Who’dathunk?
“The Circle”
boasts an impressive pedigree: the film is based on a Dave Eggers novel,
directed by the generally wonderful James Ponsoldt, and employs a talented
cast. So what went wrong? The film clearly has much it wants to say about
surveillance, collection of personal data, and the role of technology in our
lives, but those ideas are so superficial and poorly thought out that they
remain frustratingly vague. We never get a handle on what The Circle’s agenda
is; they don’t seem malevolent so much as willfully ignorant about the
consequences their technology has when enforced on people’s actual, messy
lives.
The
characterization of Mae is similarly all over the place, seesawing wildly from
skeptic to true believer. And her semi-flirtatious relationship with a
mysterious employee (John Boyega, utterly wasted) who skulks around offering
cryptic warnings makes absolutely no sense.
The film
gets a few decent laughs out of its satirical depiction of corporate culture
and jabs at social media activism (“We’ve sent over 180 million frowns from the
US alone, and you can bet that has had an effect on the regime!”), but there’s
no avoiding the feeling that this has all been done before and better — even
last summer’s YA thriller “Nerve” managed to cover a lot of the same ground
much more effectively. By the end, “The Circle” feels like a cautionary tale
that can’t decide exactly what it’s cautioning us against.
Check back on Friday for more
film coverage, including a review of the Emily Dickinson biopic, “A Quiet
Passion.”
This article appears in May 3-9, 2017.
