Mia (Emma Watson) works for a water company. Her day includes chasing payments and making other daily corrections within her company. Thanks to her best friend Annie, Mia scores a job interview and lands a dream job at the powerful, high tech company called “The Circle”. Mia soon learns there is more about this company that will affect the lives of all humanity.  

It’s no secret that we ourselves live in a pretty cool world full of high gadgets and advancements. The Circle is a company that desires to aim higher and one of the main company’s directors is Bailey (played by Tom Hanks), who is passionate to make the world an even better and safer place through the use of advanced technology.

While Mia doesn’t have any real high-end experience in the world of technology or programming, as the film progresses it’s Mia who meets key characters who just happen to reveal more about the company or assist her with making massive creative changes within the company which brings us to the biggest point of the film…

While the concept and plot of The Circle is something many in the world can relate to, its overall direction and dialogue is a major disappointment and was a letdown for me. All the team members that surround Mia deliver dialogue that is over the top and painful to watch. After all, these people are all supposed to be adults at a major I.T. company, right? Emma Watson also tries her best, but the script hurts her as a lead character.  

As stated above, the King actor himself, Tom Hanks is 2nd credited in this film but is really here to mostly speak on stage as “The Circle” crowd and team members laugh and call out during his presentations – it’s all cheesy. I should also note that the actors of Mia’s parents, Bill Paxton & Glenne Headly, both passed away in 2017. The thought that this is their last performance and their last film makes me wish it was something better than this.

Overall, if you enjoy technology talk, sure, some of that is found here, along with creative ideas and discussions within “The Circle” that show some worth. It is the characters dialogue and predictable script that I found so awful to the point that halfway through the film, I actually checked my watch and let out a big sigh as I found the film had one more hour to go. Danny Elfman’s score is also felt out of place and tried to be something that just didn’t suit this film (rare for the talented Elfman!). The actors all do what they can here but in the end, it’s not enough for me to recommend this film.

2.3/10

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Review Written by Peter Walkden