Review of The Circle (2017) by Matt G — 04 May 2017

Techno-thriller The Circle would be more aptly titled Applauding for Platitudes: The Movie. Featuring numerous, embarrassing scenes of crowds laughing, clapping, oohing and ahhing at some Steve-Jobs-esque speaker presenting a rudimentary new idea as if it's a game-changer speaks to how the film feels about itself. Unfortunately, The Circle is not nearly as clever or important as it thinks it is. More Divergent franchise than Social Network, it's a slick, predictable sci-fi snooze.

This story about a tech-company's (think Google, Apple) mysterious control and oversight over its consumers and employees is packed with talent. Written by acclaimed author Dave Eggers (Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) and directed by talented indie director Ponsoldt (Spectacular Now, End of the Tour), it's a mystery as to what really went wrong here. The tone is a mess, trying to induce both laughs and chills (I think), but never landing either.

In front of the camera is a plethora of prestige as well. However, other than Paxton, who gives a great final performance as a man with MS, there's not much to praise. Watson is aloof, Hanks is charming but one-note, Oswalt is out of his element, and Coltrane (the kid from Boyhood) answers the question about whether he can actually act (he cannot).

There all stuck trying to make teenage-level, pop-philosophy more interesting than it is ("Guys! Did you know privacy is important? And did you ALSO know that technology is infringing on that privacy?! We must be careful!"). Maybe that's its goal, and maybe high-schoolers will respond to it as fascinatingly complex, but its onslaught of logical fallacies and unclear messaging just make it all fascinatingly confusing.