Emma Watson’s performance as Belle in Disney’s live-action reimagining of Beauty and the Beast continues to steal headlines left, right and center – particularly now as the fairytale remake closes in on $900 million at the global box office – but the former Harry Potter star has another feature film looming on the horizon, and its name is The Circle.
An adaptation of Dave Eggers’ nervy page-turner of the same name, The Circle taps into the underlying societal concerns over mass surveillance and information control to engineer a taut tech thriller with real bite. At the eye of that digital storm is Emma Watson’s tech enthusiast Mae, who lands a dream job at the titular conglomerate only to realize that there dark, dark secrets lurking in the bowels of The Circle.
As the largest and most powerful social media company on the planet, The Circle has unprecedented access to personal information, and prides itself on such control. “Knowing is good; knowing everything is better” is the motto fuelling Eamon Bailey’s (Tom Hanks) vision, but when the boundaries of privacy are blurred, Emma Watson’s lead character learns that it often raises pressing moral and ethical concerns.
It’s a fascinating, timely set-up for James Ponsoldt’s adaptation, what with the exponential growth of artificial intelligence and mass surveillance, but can The Circle draw in the moviegoing masses later this month? If Ponsoldt’s tech thriller really is to become a sleeper hit, it’s secret weapon will be no doubt be its all-star cast of Hollywood A-listers.
Also starring The Force Awakens breakout John Boyega, Patton Oswalt, the late, great Bill Paxton, Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) and Ellar Coltrane, The Circle boots online on April 28th.
