Welcome back to Sound Off!, a semi-regular column where members of Speculative Chic gather together to chat about the latest BIG THING in entertainment. This time, land a dream tech job and discuss The Circle, which premiered in the United States on Friday, April 28, 2017.
Sound Off! is meant to be a reaction, but not necessarily a review. After all, while we are all individuals, even mutual love of something (or hate) can come from different places: you may find everything from critique to fangirling to maybe even hate-watching.
Now, join J.L. Gribble as she talks about The Circle! [Note: Spoiler free!]
J.L.: I went to this movie mostly because I wanted to see what life was like in a world were Google was evil (contrary to the company’s actual motto, which is “Don’t be evil”). Instead, I got a peek into a world just slightly off from ours, in which Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and pretty much every other major online network (social or not) are compressed into one company: The Circle.
The good news is that I didn’t come home and immediately feel the need to delete my Facebook account.
The more interesting news is that I actually came home and immediately felt the need to purchase the book that this film is based on. I purposefully kept myself on media blackout for this movie because I didn’t want external impressions crowding out my enjoyment of it. Unfortunately, I spent most of my time in the theater wondering what I was missing, instead — which was confirmed immediately by a friend who saw it with me who’d just finished the book that morning.
Don’t get me wrong — the movie wasn’t bad at all. Some of the dialog was a bit clunky, but the acting was fantastic and the film did one of the best jobs I’ve seen of showing us what’s happening online along with concurrent events IRL (in real life). Don’t kill yourself trying to read every single one of the texts that pops up on screen, because even my speed-reader self couldn’t manage it. But there are definitely some great gems if you catch them.
The Circle starts off strong, but there’s a difference between leaving the ending up to interpretation and leaving your audience wondering what the hell is going on. I certainly won’t dissuade anyone from seeing the movie, but there might be less head-scratching when the credits roll if you’ve read the novel first.
I always find it a cool thing if the movie adaptation (or television adaptation) makes you want to read the book. Let us know your follow-up thoughts if you do!