THE CIRCLE
Think Films!
The Circle Review
WWarning! There will be a few spoilers in this review. The Circle was a movie that was average at best. Not anything I would advise anyone to spend their money on at the cinema, but I recommend you watch the DVD for the following reasons. It does address a very poignant and relevant subject matter... Technology and Privacy; and raises questions that we really need to have a ready answer for.
The story begins with Mae( Emma Watson) contacting her old friend Mercer( Ellar Coltrane) for assistance since her car broke down on her way from work. After the car was fixed she soon gets home to her mother Bonnie( Glenne Headly) and father Vinnie( Bill Paxton) who has multiple sclerosis who both seem to like Mercer. Knowing that she needs the money Mae’ s friend Annie Allerton( Karen Gillan) calls her from work telling her that she got Mae an interview at this famous company she
24 | SHARE | MAGAZINE January- March 2018 works at called The Circle, which gives her a job in customer experience.
Annie and is wowed by the level of technology produced by The Circle. At a meeting that day Eamon Bailey( Tom Hanks) introduces a new product called SeeChange which provides real time video by placing small cameras anywhere. That night at a company party, Mae meets a man who seems to be less than excited about the organisation called The Circle.
At another Circle event she meets this man again and he takes her to an unfamiliar of The Circle, revealing himself to be Ty Lafitte( John Boyega), founder of TrueYou a popular Circle product. This was the database where the information on every worker, called Circler, is kept. He also reveals an area underground which shows miles of space that The Circle would use for further storage of information. There, Ty reveals who he is to Mae and tells her that TrueYou has become something he never intended. After being sworn to secrecy Mae and Ty leave the tunnel.
Some time later Mae receives a photograph of a chandelier in the form of antlers that her friend Mercer had made which she shares in on her
Circle Profile( a form of social media). This, however, attracts a large amount of negative attention for Mercer as people think he is killing real animals. Mercer visits Mae and the two argue in the lobby. Distraught, Mae decides to go kayaking that night and steals the equipment to do so( of course with the intention of putting it back.) She ends up almost drowning, but is saved by the Coast Guard who knew where she was because of footage caught on a SeeChange camera near the kayaking shop.
That event leads Mae to become the first Circler going“ fully transparent” which involves her wearing a body camera and“ vlogging” her entire day. This was announced at a Circle meeting by Eamon. However, this damages her relationship with her family and old friends. She accidentally sees her parents having sex and the whole world sees in turn.
Still, she continues to climb the corporate ladder and we see her in a Circle board meeting. At this meeting, Eamon announces support from all states in the USA, for voting through Circle Accounts. Mae suggests requiring every individual to have a Circle Account. Eamon and Tom