The Circle (2017)
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A young woman's career at a powerful social media company leads her to embrace a life of total public transparency.
The story
Through her friend Annie, call center intern Mae Holland secures a customer support position at The Circle, a tech and social media company. Mae takes the job, hoping to support her parents, particularly her father who suffers from multiple sclerosis, while her longtime friend Mercer is less supportive. At a company meeting, CEO Eamon Bailey introduces SeeChange, which uses small cameras placed anywhere to provide real-time high-quality video. Mae rises in The Circle, embracing social networking and meeting Ty Lafitte, who displays suspicion of other, more enthusiastic employees. At an outdoor company rally, The Circle's Chief Operating Officer introduces Congresswoman Olivia Santos, who has agreed to open her daily workings to the public.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Mae Holland joins The Circle, a tech giant, to support her parents. She rises quickly, eventually becoming the first 'Circler' to go 'completely transparent' by wearing a camera 24/7. This lifestyle damages her personal relationships. During a company meeting, Mae suggests requiring every voting citizen to have a Circle account to vote, a move approved by the CEO, Eamon Bailey, and COO Tom Stenton. Mae also proposes a program to find wanted felons, which successfully identifies a child murderer. However, when the program is used to find her friend Mercer, he is pursued by Circle users and drones, leading to his death in a car accident. After Mercer's death, Mae returns to the company. She eventually discovers that Ty, the creator of the social network TrueYou, has exposed the private emails of the company's leaders. Mae takes the stage and invites Eamon and Tom to go fully transparent, exposing them to the world. She concludes by returning to her kayaking, now untroubled by the drones shadowing her.
- First release year
- 2017
- Runtime (minutes)
- 110
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- James Ponsoldt
- Writers
- James Ponsoldt · screenplay; Dave Eggers · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Emma Watson · Mae Holland; Tom Hanks; John Boyega; Karen Gillan; Ellar Coltrane; Patton Oswalt; Glenne Headly; Bill Paxton
- Genres
- techno-thriller; science fiction; drama
- Themes
- surveillance society; social media transparency; privacy vs. accountability
- Tone and mood
- dystopian; techno-thriller; cautionary
- Premise and plot tags
- social media; surveillance; technology; transparency
- Source material / true-story basis
- Dave Eggers's 2013 novel The Circle
- Content notes
- multiple sclerosis
- Reception
- The film received generally negative reviews and underperformed at the box office, though it was noted for its contemporary relevance and cautionary themes.
- Awards and nominations
- Teen Choice Award · winning films · win
- Production trivia
- The film's release was posthumous for Bill Paxton.; It was the final film of Glenne Headly released before her death.; It became James Ponsoldt's highest-grossing feature.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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