Circle (2015)
Spoilers spoilers spoilers.
The film takes its name from the layout of our characters in this experiment. They all stand on small circles forming a larger circle with a device in the middle ready to zap any of them at a moment's notice. Leaving the circle means certain death. The last person standing will presumably walk away from this hellscape unscathed.
First off, there’s something really silly about this film. It reminds me of an instalment of the Final Destination or the Saw film franchises, but perhaps less enjoyable. Certainly less enjoyable than the former, in my opinion.
I did take issue with some of the plot developments in Circle. As I have probably mentioned before, I’m a huge fan of the show Black Mirror, an anthology series that is mainly motivated by the premise that humans suffer from poor moral thinking, which is only exacerbated by the use of technology. Circle is not unlike Black Mirror in this underlying bias. To invest in the plot device of this film, we have to believe that humans are not capable of working together in life or death situations. At face value, Circle promotes the idea that we are all out for ourselves.
Although it was released in 2015, Circle feels eerily relevant to our current moment. We are living in a world where our decisions could cost others their lives. It’s true that many have proven to be very selfish in the current pandemic. Some refuse to wear a mask and actively socially distance, amongst other things. It’s not true that everyone is out for themselves, many urge others to be cautious, to stay home, and look out for others in their community.
But, if everyone in this film cooperated to save the lives of some in exchange for the lives of many, it wouldn’t make for a very good high stakes thriller. I think in this respect, this film doesn’t hit a hard emotional note. It didn’t make me want to challenge my behaviour. I admit that Circle was entertaining, but the film lets itself down as it promotes itself from the outset as a moral dilemma. As the viewer, the camera is often positioned in a way to make it seem like you are within the circle. You are forced to consider what you would do in the same position. Yet, Circle doesn't have the emotional payoff to justify this filming technique.
What would I do in this position? Perhaps, I would be like one woman and try to provide context for the others, to add more humanity to a cold and clinical experiment that plays on our apathy for our fellow human beings. We see one character describe her life in a relatable series of bullet points. She works in HR, a job she fell into, she has no children but a few pets, and she was an English major at university. Many aspects of her life are not unlike my own. But what happens to her following her speech is that she is killed. Standing out in this group makes you a target, and perhaps her lack of dependents or virtue in her work life also made her a target. Regardless, I am hardly remarkable so I wouldn’t be considered the best and the brightest of the pack. Goodbye Ellen.
Beyond that option, I might die early on from causing a commotion from a panic attack. Or, if I do manage to ground myself, I like to think that I would sacrifice myself and that I wouldn’t vote to kill anyone. I am, after all, a woman with a soft heart and a strong opposition to the death penalty.
First off, there’s something really silly about this film. It reminds me of an instalment of the Final Destination or the Saw film franchises, but perhaps less enjoyable. Certainly less enjoyable than the former, in my opinion.
I did take issue with some of the plot developments in Circle. As I have probably mentioned before, I’m a huge fan of the show Black Mirror, an anthology series that is mainly motivated by the premise that humans suffer from poor moral thinking, which is only exacerbated by the use of technology. Circle is not unlike Black Mirror in this underlying bias. To invest in the plot device of this film, we have to believe that humans are not capable of working together in life or death situations. At face value, Circle promotes the idea that we are all out for ourselves.
Although it was released in 2015, Circle feels eerily relevant to our current moment. We are living in a world where our decisions could cost others their lives. It’s true that many have proven to be very selfish in the current pandemic. Some refuse to wear a mask and actively socially distance, amongst other things. It’s not true that everyone is out for themselves, many urge others to be cautious, to stay home, and look out for others in their community.
But, if everyone in this film cooperated to save the lives of some in exchange for the lives of many, it wouldn’t make for a very good high stakes thriller. I think in this respect, this film doesn’t hit a hard emotional note. It didn’t make me want to challenge my behaviour. I admit that Circle was entertaining, but the film lets itself down as it promotes itself from the outset as a moral dilemma. As the viewer, the camera is often positioned in a way to make it seem like you are within the circle. You are forced to consider what you would do in the same position. Yet, Circle doesn't have the emotional payoff to justify this filming technique.
What would I do in this position? Perhaps, I would be like one woman and try to provide context for the others, to add more humanity to a cold and clinical experiment that plays on our apathy for our fellow human beings. We see one character describe her life in a relatable series of bullet points. She works in HR, a job she fell into, she has no children but a few pets, and she was an English major at university. Many aspects of her life are not unlike my own. But what happens to her following her speech is that she is killed. Standing out in this group makes you a target, and perhaps her lack of dependents or virtue in her work life also made her a target. Regardless, I am hardly remarkable so I wouldn’t be considered the best and the brightest of the pack. Goodbye Ellen.
Beyond that option, I might die early on from causing a commotion from a panic attack. Or, if I do manage to ground myself, I like to think that I would sacrifice myself and that I wouldn’t vote to kill anyone. I am, after all, a woman with a soft heart and a strong opposition to the death penalty.
I always have to question how the characters behave in these types of films. It’s hard to say how we would behave in such a life or death situation. I’m inclined to believe it would be much more chaotic, deeply emotional, and haphazard. The characters benefit from an intuitive understanding of the game right away, which is convenient given Circle's short run time. There is no talking head to explain the rules of the voting system, and I don’t buy that the rules of this game are simple enough to be intuited without a lot of trial and error. But, I am willing to suspend my sense of disbelief on this point.
But really, who knows how they would act in this situation. No human has ever been in one of these fucked up dystopian thought experiments. We have nothing to go off as a viewer. Failing to propel me into the superego then, what is this film’s purpose other than entertainment?
Entertainment for entertainment’s sake may be no bad thing, but every film has its biases, underlying themes, questions, or its window unto the world. Handled well, this can make for an exceptional film. In this genre, which I have loosely called sci-fi, I think the film Arrival is head and shoulders above many other films. It convincingly plays with the idea of extraterrestrial life and what these other life forms have to offer us as humans. Arrival also offers thoughtful commentary about human connection, grief, and the nature of communication. The stakes in Arrival are meaningful, whereas the stakes in Circle come across as cold and inhumane.
I said earlier that this film doesn’t effectively encourage its viewer to question their own moral actions but it does succeed in being entertaining. Yet, this implies the film is neutral, neither good in its message nor bad. But I can’t in good conscience say that I think this film doesn’t have the potential to spread a negative message. For example, the most dangerous characters in this film are given the most air time. I’m not talking about the accused criminal character, who is unsurprisingly killed early on. I’m talking about the characters singling out women, people of colour, and queer characters and questioning their moral characters before being abducted by aliens.
The stereotypes in this film are thrown out thick and fast. Men are given the most time to speak amongst the group and they spend a lot of their precious time attacking the women characters. One woman is attacked for being gay, another for being a sex worker, and even a pregnant woman, who has said very little, is accused of being a drain on society.
The poorly behaving characters seem to outlast the collective ire of the group after saying some extremely judgmental comments about class, ethnic backgrounds, and gender. It just seemed like a free for all for nasty comments to be directed at minorities and oppressed people. I wasn’t into that part of the narrative. It didn’t do it for me, sorry. If I wanted to sit through an hour of people discriminating against others I would trawl through the comments section of Stuff articles. It added little to the conversation about systemic oppression.
In this film’s defence, there are some great characters. One of my favourites was the lesbian who seemed to also be one of the most giving people on earth, working with the Peace Corps and then non-profit organisations. She was also married with a child. I also really liked a young Latina psychology grad student who was fighting on behalf of another man in the group who couldn’t speak English.
I will say that a black character's complaints about ethnic minorities being killed off first was pretty interesting. But it was one comment outnumbered by many more that just seemed to be put in the film for their shock value alone. I just thought there was more potential to be clever with the commentary about human nature. Circle occasionally subverts your expectations, but too often it relies on stereotypes in its storytelling.
What’s worse about this film is that a character is established who creates ambiguous messaging about this film’s agenda. Our final victor turns out to be manipulating his fellow players all along. The final three are a young girl, a pregnant woman, and a man. He convinces the young girl to step off her circle, which will kill her and spare the life of the pregnant woman and her baby. He convinces her that they will sacrifice themselves at the same time. At the last moment, before the zapper kills one of them, he votes to kill the pregnant woman, the young girl dies, and he is the only one left standing.
To make matters even worse, his final challenge is to pick between his own survival and the baby’s survival. Dude picks for the baby to die. So he kills two children, nice one bro. Then, he makes it out alive, looks at some space ships at a distance along with some survivors, many of them children.
I think the issue is that the film leaves it up to the viewer to reconcile his actions. There are no negative consequences to his selfishness, and some viewers seem to believe that he was only acting on his instinct to survive. I mean, that’s bullshit. This isn’t a film about the noble act of survival. We aren’t following a protagonist like in The Shawshank Redemption, an innocent prisoner who manages to escape. This guy sucks. It was just the most brutal and morbidly entertaining outcome for the story. That’s where Circle falls short, I’m all for creative and compelling storytelling, but it rarely needs to involve killing babies. Read, if you are creating something in a universe where you can spare the lives of babies, just so you know, it's best to avoid killing the children and babies. It’s pretty easy.
But I expect most viewers are smart enough to know that there is no justifying killing children to benefit yourself. I do worry for those of you who are confused. Basically, this film is a crude representation of our capitalist system, where we are all supposedly out for ourselves and willing to step on others to raise our own statuses. If you think that’s inevitable, if you think that is simply human nature, think again. Or perhaps, try thinking at all.
I did find this film captivating. I do often indulge in sci-fi and dystopian stories because I am endlessly intrigued by the creativity of these genres. But, I think this film should be watched with a critical eye. Human life is important, and especially in our current climate, we are responsible for the quality of life of others. You don’t have to even sacrifice your own life like these characters in Circle. You can save lives by wearing a mask, washing your hands, and following the protocol in your local community.
But really, who knows how they would act in this situation. No human has ever been in one of these fucked up dystopian thought experiments. We have nothing to go off as a viewer. Failing to propel me into the superego then, what is this film’s purpose other than entertainment?
Entertainment for entertainment’s sake may be no bad thing, but every film has its biases, underlying themes, questions, or its window unto the world. Handled well, this can make for an exceptional film. In this genre, which I have loosely called sci-fi, I think the film Arrival is head and shoulders above many other films. It convincingly plays with the idea of extraterrestrial life and what these other life forms have to offer us as humans. Arrival also offers thoughtful commentary about human connection, grief, and the nature of communication. The stakes in Arrival are meaningful, whereas the stakes in Circle come across as cold and inhumane.
I said earlier that this film doesn’t effectively encourage its viewer to question their own moral actions but it does succeed in being entertaining. Yet, this implies the film is neutral, neither good in its message nor bad. But I can’t in good conscience say that I think this film doesn’t have the potential to spread a negative message. For example, the most dangerous characters in this film are given the most air time. I’m not talking about the accused criminal character, who is unsurprisingly killed early on. I’m talking about the characters singling out women, people of colour, and queer characters and questioning their moral characters before being abducted by aliens.
The stereotypes in this film are thrown out thick and fast. Men are given the most time to speak amongst the group and they spend a lot of their precious time attacking the women characters. One woman is attacked for being gay, another for being a sex worker, and even a pregnant woman, who has said very little, is accused of being a drain on society.
The poorly behaving characters seem to outlast the collective ire of the group after saying some extremely judgmental comments about class, ethnic backgrounds, and gender. It just seemed like a free for all for nasty comments to be directed at minorities and oppressed people. I wasn’t into that part of the narrative. It didn’t do it for me, sorry. If I wanted to sit through an hour of people discriminating against others I would trawl through the comments section of Stuff articles. It added little to the conversation about systemic oppression.
In this film’s defence, there are some great characters. One of my favourites was the lesbian who seemed to also be one of the most giving people on earth, working with the Peace Corps and then non-profit organisations. She was also married with a child. I also really liked a young Latina psychology grad student who was fighting on behalf of another man in the group who couldn’t speak English.
I will say that a black character's complaints about ethnic minorities being killed off first was pretty interesting. But it was one comment outnumbered by many more that just seemed to be put in the film for their shock value alone. I just thought there was more potential to be clever with the commentary about human nature. Circle occasionally subverts your expectations, but too often it relies on stereotypes in its storytelling.
What’s worse about this film is that a character is established who creates ambiguous messaging about this film’s agenda. Our final victor turns out to be manipulating his fellow players all along. The final three are a young girl, a pregnant woman, and a man. He convinces the young girl to step off her circle, which will kill her and spare the life of the pregnant woman and her baby. He convinces her that they will sacrifice themselves at the same time. At the last moment, before the zapper kills one of them, he votes to kill the pregnant woman, the young girl dies, and he is the only one left standing.
To make matters even worse, his final challenge is to pick between his own survival and the baby’s survival. Dude picks for the baby to die. So he kills two children, nice one bro. Then, he makes it out alive, looks at some space ships at a distance along with some survivors, many of them children.
I think the issue is that the film leaves it up to the viewer to reconcile his actions. There are no negative consequences to his selfishness, and some viewers seem to believe that he was only acting on his instinct to survive. I mean, that’s bullshit. This isn’t a film about the noble act of survival. We aren’t following a protagonist like in The Shawshank Redemption, an innocent prisoner who manages to escape. This guy sucks. It was just the most brutal and morbidly entertaining outcome for the story. That’s where Circle falls short, I’m all for creative and compelling storytelling, but it rarely needs to involve killing babies. Read, if you are creating something in a universe where you can spare the lives of babies, just so you know, it's best to avoid killing the children and babies. It’s pretty easy.
But I expect most viewers are smart enough to know that there is no justifying killing children to benefit yourself. I do worry for those of you who are confused. Basically, this film is a crude representation of our capitalist system, where we are all supposedly out for ourselves and willing to step on others to raise our own statuses. If you think that’s inevitable, if you think that is simply human nature, think again. Or perhaps, try thinking at all.
I did find this film captivating. I do often indulge in sci-fi and dystopian stories because I am endlessly intrigued by the creativity of these genres. But, I think this film should be watched with a critical eye. Human life is important, and especially in our current climate, we are responsible for the quality of life of others. You don’t have to even sacrifice your own life like these characters in Circle. You can save lives by wearing a mask, washing your hands, and following the protocol in your local community.
Here I am again, mining B grade entertainment for a profound takeaway. I don’t think this film set out to really make me think, but here I am going over it in my head. I think my deliberation over this film is in opposition to the film’s ethos. I don’t think Circle is a secretly clever film. Don’t get me wrong.
If you’re still curious to watch this film, I saw it on Netflix. I would describe it as a high stakes thriller with a dash of science fiction. Watch at your own peril. Take care, look out for one another, and it should go without saying that I think your life is precious, dear reader.
If you’re still curious to watch this film, I saw it on Netflix. I would describe it as a high stakes thriller with a dash of science fiction. Watch at your own peril. Take care, look out for one another, and it should go without saying that I think your life is precious, dear reader.
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