YNMS: "The Circle"
Friday, December 16, 2016 at 1:00AM Chris here. We had expected to see The Circle among the Sundance lineup, but it looks like it will be director James Ponsoldt's first film away from the festival. No matter, because the film still will be one of the more intriguing of the coming spring. From David Eggers's novel, The Circle stars Emma Watson as a young professional given the chance to work for an all-consuming social media entity (think Facebook on steroids) that may be more sinister than meets the eye. The novel was a bit on the nose in its critique, but its anxieties grow all the more realized in our online hive mindset.
Let's take a look at the first trailer and break down the Yes No Maybe So after the jump...
YES
- There's a strong balance of inviting and creepy that makes The Circle a believable social movement. That will go a long way to cover the novel's leaps in believability.
- Yes please, John Boyega as the mystery man. What a relief to see a film where the sexual tension is just between two white people.
- Tom Hanks playing sinister is something we've oddly been denied. This role actually turns his Dad-ness on its head in ways that should be fascinating.
- Late spring is a great time for timely sci-fi - and this vibe recalls Ex Machina's vibe. Potential sleeper hit?
NO
- The lead character is such a cypher on the page, and I can't imagine it playing into Watson's more interesting qualities. I'm skeptical that Ponsoldt's gift with actors will show up here when she's already this flat.
- Ok guys, we've got to find new ways to protray people on their phones in the movies.
- Tom Hanks in a beard is never acceptable. Someone call Rita.
- How do you even approach satirized social technology when it changes so fast? Art like this always feels instantly dated.
MAYBE SO
- James Ponsoldt is taking more of a genre leap here, but if he can bring as much humanity to this as his previous films, it could pay off.
- Director of Photography Matthew Libatique is a master of creating tension in the frame. His work is always worth the look.
So far I'm leaning Maybe So - but what are your thoughts?
Reader Comments (11)
Emma Watson's acting always has this awkward quality to it where you can see her concentrating on acting. Rather than letting it flow naturally, you can see how aware she is of how she comes off. I don't see why Hollywood needs another generically pretty young, white actress like her and Kristen Stewart. Give roles to more diverse people, folks. It makes movies so much better.
This looks strong. I'm a fan of Ponsoldt's last three movies, especially Spectacular Now, so this would have gotten a watch from me regardless. With that being said, I'm excited to see him step away from the low key dramas to a more high stakes thriller.
Like Chris noted, I'm fascinated to see the against type casting of Hanks as a possibility villainous character (has he ever done this before?). As well as beyaccount, that I'm unimpressed with Waston's acting. She was fine in Perks...Wallflower (though the weakest out of the trio) but everything else has been near awful. He should of casted one of his previous actress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead or preferably Shailene Woodley) or maybe Kiersey Clemons or Tessa Thompson.
Nice to see Boyega in something. I could do with that Boyhood actor though.
Emma Watson is so mannered,I can totally agree.
Soft No. I don't understand the appeal of John Boyega. He's even more mannered than Watson.
This trailer makes me want to vomit on Mark Zuckerburg. More so than normal. So I think it does what it intends but I don't need any help down the paranoid rabbit hole. Intruiged because of Hanks (he should have tea with Riz Ahmed, the sole redeeming aspect of Bourne), but most likely a "no."
Definitely not watching this. Emma Watson's brand of Drama class acting (furrowed eyebrows, nostrils blaring) is painful to witness.
Come on, y'all. She was *great* in The Bling Ring.
But yeah, she's not exactly the most interesting actress. And Shailene Woodley, if the Divergent series is any indication, doesn't have a handle on heightened drama with sci-fi elements.
I will agree with everyone criticizing Watson's acting. Too forced and distracting. Saoirse Ronan is the best of that generation and everyone is trying to keep up. I say that because every role Woodley or Watson has, I always end up thinking how much of a better job Ronan would have done. Nice to see Hanks potentially playing a bad guy though. At this point of his career it would be very very bold but also overdue for him to show some psychopathic undertones to his good guy persona.
Looks kind of generic.
All I know is that the book is sooo bad. The story is ok but the writing itself is terrible.
Road to Perdition (2002), folks. Tom Hanks as a hitman.