“THE CIRCLE”: A CAUTIONARY TECH TALE TOLD TOO LATE
Emma Watson and Karen Gillan star in THE CIRCLE. Motion Picture Artwork © 2017 STX Financing, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
I read The Circle by Dave Eggers when it first came out in 2013. It was a fascinating, though not perfect, mostly fictional tale of the power of Silicon Valley gone wrong. Even then, though, the time that lapsed between the writing and actual publication rendered the information and issues the book was tackling antiquated.
Add to that the years it took to write, shoot, edit, and distribute the film: you’re left with a pretty stale story. The film centers around a fictional tech company called The Circle (essentially an amalgam of real-life major corporations we’re familiar with), and Emma Watson plays Mae, an employee who sees a meteoric rise to prominence both within the company and externally.
“The Circle” is all about information accessibility, and even though the issues surrounding that is certainly relevant today, it’s not groundbreaking news anymore. We live in a world where violent crimes can be broadcast live on social media platforms, a reality-TV host became President with the help of probable social media propaganda campaigns run by Russia, and whistle blowers like Edward Snowden have put privacy issues on the map in extreme ways. In comparison to these real-life dramas, Dave Eggers’ dystopia in The Circle doesn’t go far enough.
Add to that the years it took to write, shoot, edit, and distribute the film: you’re left with a pretty stale story. The film centers around a fictional tech company called The Circle (essentially an amalgam of real-life major corporations we’re familiar with), and Emma Watson plays Mae, an employee who sees a meteoric rise to prominence both within the company and externally.
“The Circle” is all about information accessibility, and even though the issues surrounding that is certainly relevant today, it’s not groundbreaking news anymore. We live in a world where violent crimes can be broadcast live on social media platforms, a reality-TV host became President with the help of probable social media propaganda campaigns run by Russia, and whistle blowers like Edward Snowden have put privacy issues on the map in extreme ways. In comparison to these real-life dramas, Dave Eggers’ dystopia in The Circle doesn’t go far enough.
Perhaps I’m too close to the subject, growing up next to Silicon Valley and working in tech. The information hoarding plot line that is so key to the story wasn’t particularly shocking to me in 2013, and is even less so in 2017.
There may be audiences in places that aren’t as inundated with tech culture in their everyday life that will find the plot more shocking. But at the end of the day, the movie itself is bland. The interpersonal relationships that made the book interesting seem to have been cut for time and the characters are diluted versions of the complex roles that made the book so interesting. Even the likability of the mega-star cast only goes so far.
Some stories are better left as books. Plot aside, the strength of Egger’s novel is in how he captured the fervor with which some people love their company cultures, as well as the disillusionment of others. Unfortunately, that is watered down in the translation to the big screen.
There may be audiences in places that aren’t as inundated with tech culture in their everyday life that will find the plot more shocking. But at the end of the day, the movie itself is bland. The interpersonal relationships that made the book interesting seem to have been cut for time and the characters are diluted versions of the complex roles that made the book so interesting. Even the likability of the mega-star cast only goes so far.
Some stories are better left as books. Plot aside, the strength of Egger’s novel is in how he captured the fervor with which some people love their company cultures, as well as the disillusionment of others. Unfortunately, that is watered down in the translation to the big screen.
This article originally appeared on KFOG.com on May 1, 2017