The Circle

**The Circle** is a 2017 film starring Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, John Boyega, Karen Gillan, Ellar Coltrane, Patton Oswalt, Glenne Headly and Bill Paxton, directed by James Ponsoldt, written by Ponsoldt and Dave Eggers and produced by Anthony Bregman, Gary Goetzman and Ponsoldt.

The film was a financial failure as it generated a loss of $15 million.

## Plot

Through her friend Annie, call center intern Mae Holland secures a customer support position at The Circle, a tech and social media company. Mae's friend Mercer is less supportive. Mae takes the job, hoping to support her parents, particularly her father who suffers from multiple sclerosis. At a company meeting, CEO Eamon Bailey introduces SeeChange, which uses small cameras placed anywhere to provide real-time high-quality video. Mae rises quickly in The Circle, embracing social networking and meeting Ty Lafitte, who displays suspicion of other, more enthusiastic employees. At another company presentation emphasizing the need for accountability in politics, The Circle's Chief Operating Officer, Tom Stenton, introduces a political candidate who has agreed to open her daily workings to the public through SeeChange. Mae meets Ty again and he takes her to an area containing the cloud server where all information collected by SeeChange is to be kept. Mae is embarrassed when she realizes that Ty is the creator of True You, a popular Circle product, and she had not recognized him. He tells her that True You has grown out of his control, and its current utilization is not what he intended.

Later, Mercer shows Mae a picture of a light fitting he made from deer antlers. She photographs it and shares it on her Circle profile. The image attracts significant negative attention to Mercer, with people accusing him of killing the deer. Mercer confronts her at work and tells her to leave him alone. Distressed by Mercer’s reaction, Mae goes kayaking at night and the rough waters cause her kayak to capsize, requiring rescue by the Coast Guard. SeeChange cameras recorded her at the kayak premises and in the water, which is how the Coast Guard was able to save her. At the next meeting, Eamon introduces Mae to the crowd and they discuss her experience of the rescue. The kayaking experience moves her to become the first "Circler" to go "completely transparent”, which involves wearing a small camera and exposing her life to the world 24/7. Mae's transparency damages her relationships with her parents and Annie, as she accidentally shows too much of their lives and they distance themselves from her.

At a board meeting, Eamon announces support from all 50 states for voting through Circle accounts. Mae takes it a step further and suggests requiring every individual to have a Circle account, which they can then use to vote. Eamon and Tom approve, but the suggestion upsets Annie. At the next company-wide meeting, Mae says that The Circle believes it can find anyone on the planet in under 20 minutes and introduces a program to find wanted felons in the same time frame. The program identifies an escaped prisoner within 10 minutes, which causes the Circlers in the audience to erupt in applause. Mae uses this successful test to suggest transparency can be a force for good. Mae says that the program can find anyone, not just wanted felons, and someone suggests Mercer. Mae is initially hesitant to use the program to locate Mercer, but Tom persuades Mae to continue. Mercer is quickly located in an isolated cabin where he works on his antler projects. Startled by this, he flees and proceeds to lead those tracking him on a car chase. He loses control of his truck and crashes off a bridge to his death, which horrifies Mae. Three days later, still mourning the loss of Mercer, Mae calls Annie, who has also left The Circle, to her apparent benefit. Mae, however, finds that connection with others helps her cope with Mercer's death.

Mae returns to the Circle, despite her parents' pleas. Mae calls Ty to ask for a favor and Ty tells her something that he has discovered. At the next company-wide meeting, Mae explains how connection has helped her recover. She speaks with Eamon, and invites Tom onstage, then invites both Eamon and Tom to go fully transparent. She explains that Ty has found all their email accounts and exposes them to the world, as no one should be exempt. Eamon and Tom, clearly upset, try to save face before Tom leaves the stage. Mae reiterates her point of transparency being good, with the support of the audience. She goes kayaking again, untroubled by the drones that surround her.