The Circle is a 2017 American techno-thriller film directed by James Ponsoldt and based on Dave Eggers’ 2013 novel of the same name, with a screenplay by Ponsoldt and Dave Eggers.
Emma Watson and Tom Hanks feature in the picture, which also includes John Boyega, Karen Gillan, Ellar Coltrane, Patton Oswalt, Glenne Headly, and Bill Paxton. This would be Paxton’s first posthumous release since his death in February 2017, as well as Headly’s final film before her death in June 2017.
STXfilms and EuropaCorp released the film in theatres on April 28, 2017, following its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, 2017. It received mixed reviews but went on to gross $40 million worldwide on a $18 million budget, making it director Ponsoldt’s highest-grossing film.
Cast
- Mae Holland is played by Emma Watson.
- Eamon Bailey is played by Tom Hanks.
- Ty Lafitte is played by John Boyega.
- Annie Allerton is played by Karen Gillan.
- Mercer Regalado is played by Ellar Coltrane.
- Tom Stenton is played by Patton Oswalt.
- Bill Paxton plays Mae’s father, Vinnie Holland.
- Bonnie Holland, Mae’s mother, is played by Glenne Headly.
- Dan is played by Nate Corddry.
- Jared is played by Mamoudou Athie.
- Mitch is played by Jimmy Wong.
- Renata is played by Ellen Wong.
- Gina is played by Smith Cho.
- Dr. Jessica Villalobos is played by Poorna Jagannathan.
- Congresswoman Olivia Santos is played by Judy Reyes.
- Senator Williamson is played by Eve Gordon.
- Beck in his own right
- Claudia O’Doherty in the role of a High-Powered Circler
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2017 Explains the Circle Ending
Mae (Emma Watson) is shown to be disturbed from within due to Mercer’s (Ellar Coltrane’s) death near the end of The Circle, and she decides to rejoin The Circle again against her parents’ wishes. Mae (John Boyega) calls Ty (John Boyega) shortly after rejoining the tech and social media company to ask for his help with something he knows.
Mae later reveals to everyone at the next company meeting how connecting with others helped her recover from Mercer’s death. She then summons Eamon (Tom Hanks) and (Tom Patton Oswalt) to the stage, imploring them to be completely open about what’s going on behind the scenes, much to their discomfort.
She also clarifies that Ty has uncovered their private emails and accounts in order to make them public. However, after an embarrassed Tom and Eamon exit the stage, she maintains her transparency ideology.
The film’s final shot depicts an unconcerned Mae kayaking while surrounded by drones, with the quote “The world cannot wait,” implying that privacy no longer exists for her.
Mae’s mother later shows Mae a photograph of Mercer’s deer antler chandelier. She takes a picture of it and posts it to her Circle profile. The image has brought Mercer a lot of negative attention, with people accusing him of killing the deer. At work, Mercer confronts her and tells her to ignore him.
Mae goes kayaking at night, distressed by Mercer’s reaction, and the choppy waters lead her kayak to capsize, needing rescue by the Coast Guard, who were notified to the emergency by SeeChange cameras, which filmed her acquiring the kayak and capsizing it.
Eamon introduces Mae to the crowd at the next meeting, and they talk about her experience with the rescue, which inspires her to become the first “Circler” to go “completely transparent,” which involves wearing a small camera and exposing her life to the world 24 hours a day.
However, this has a negative impact on her relationships with her parents and Annie, as she inadvertently exposes private aspects of their lives to the camera, causing them to distance themselves from her.
Plot
Mae Holland (Emma Watson), a call centre intern, secures a customer support position at The Circle, a tech and social media company, thanks to her friend Annie. Mercer (Ellar Coltrane), Mae’s long-time friend, is less enthusiastic. Mae accepts the position in the hopes of helping her parents, especially her father, who suffers from multiple sclerosis.
CEO Eamon Bailey (Tom Hanks) introduces SeeChange at a company meeting, which uses small cameras placed anywhere to provide real-time high-quality video in real-time. Mae quickly rises through the ranks of The Circle, embracing social networking and meeting Ty Lafitte (John Boyega), who is suspicious of the company’s other, more enthusiastic employees.
The Circle’s Chief Operating Officer, Tom Stenton (Patton Oswalt), introduces Congresswoman Olivia Santos (Judy Reyes), who has agreed to open her daily workings to the public through SeeChange, at an outdoor company rally emphasizing the need for accountability in politics.
Ty then shows Mae the area containing the cloud server, which will store all of the data collected by SeeChange. When Mae discovers that Ty is the creator of TrueYou, the Circle’s social network, she is embarrassed. TrueYou has grown out of his control, he tells her, and its current use is not what he intended.
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