He’s too big for the room his familiar stardom is distracting. Hanks does not help matters in an overinflated supporting role as the amiably villainous co-founder of The Circle. With Ponsoldt’s prior actresses Mary Elizabeth Winstead or Shailene Woodley in the role, the movie might have turned out much better - even on a smaller budget.

While she sagged in non-crucial roles in “My Week with Marilyn” and “The Bling Ring,” she was well cast in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” Clearly, Watson can shine with the right director, but “The Circle” required too much of her. Watson was a key member of the ensembles in the blockbuster Harry Potter series and worldwide musical smash “Beauty and the Beast,” which solidified her global stardom. The Best International Series on Netflix to Watch Right NowĢ023 Emmys Predictions: Outstanding Drama Series Tom Hanks: 'No One Wanted to Work for Disney' in the 1980s Robert Zemeckis' Latest Tech Move: De-Aging Tom Hanks with AI We lose sympathy for Mae as the narrative omits vital connective tissue that might explain just how and why she becomes a willing tool of The Circle. The film is told from her perspective, and required a far more charismatic actress. Veering in tone from satiric comedy to naturalistic drama, “The Circle” follows wide-eyed Mae Holland’s swift rise within a burgeoning Silicon Valley tech company (imagine Facebook and Google combined the campus resembles Apple’s new headquarters). The Circle will begin downloading in US cinemas on 28 April, but has yet to announce a date for a UK release.In order to raise an $18-million budget, globally bankable star Emma Watson was cast in a central leading role that demanded she be in every scene. You will walk out of the theater and have a serious look at yourself and how you’re living your life.' For more from the director, head to USA Today. But shooting it, we thought of it as an alternaverse: slightly skewed, but essentially our world,' Ponsoldt tells the paper's site. 'When Dave’s book came out, it felt like speculative fiction, the future around the corner. And though she’s in the middle of it, the Circle might not have her best interests at heart. The idea behind the company is uniting users' email, social media, banking and online shopping, plus a mobile camera system in its universal operating system as one identity, with this leading to a new age of transparency and civility.īut of course, it’s not that simple – and the story becomes a thriller that exploits the dangers of a digital life where all personal data is collected and pervasive surveillance means that privacy is a thing of the past. Directed by James Ponsoldt, who adapts Dave Eggers' novel, The Circle finds Watson as Mae Holland, an ambitious young woman hired to work for the titular internet megacorp, partly run by the charismatic, Steve Jobs-meets-Mark Zuckerberg tycoon Bailey (Hanks).

Tom hanks emma watson