The first trailer has been released for The Circle. Based on the novel of the same name by Dave Eggers, the film stars Emma Watson as a young woman who joins a social media company run by a charismatic figure (Tom Hanks) who encourages his employees to live their lives with complete transparency.

While the concept is certainly timely, and I’m on board for anything that director James Ponsoldt wants to do following his terrific films The Spectacular Now and The End of the Tour, The Circle finds itself in a bit of a tricky position since Black Mirror has cornered the market on how invasive technology can ruin our lives. Granted, it’s not like Black Mirror gets to be the only piece of art that gets to critique our modern lives, but the trick for The Circle will be in not retreading what Charlie Brooker’s popular show has already done. That being said, I think Ponsoldt is sharp enough to find new areas to explore, and he has the talent to make his subject matter feel immediate and thrilling.

Check out The Circle trailer below. The film opens April 28, 2017, and also stars John Boyega and Karen Gillan.

Here’s the synopsis for Dave Eggers’ The Circle:

When Mae Holland is hired to work for the Circle, the world’s most powerful internet company, she feels she’s been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The Circle, run out of a sprawling California campus, links users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency. As Mae tours the open-plan office spaces, the towering glass dining facilities, the cozy dorms for those who spend nights at work, she is thrilled with the company’s modernity and activity. There are parties that last through the night, there are famous musicians playing on the lawn, there are athletic activities and clubs and brunches, and even an aquarium of rare fish retrieved from the Marianas Trench by the CEO. Mae can’t believe her luck, her great fortune to work for the most influential company in the world—even as life beyond the campus grows distant, even as a strange encounter with a colleague leaves her shaken, even as her role at the Circle becomes increasingly public. What begins as the captivating story of one woman’s ambition and idealism soon becomes a heart-racing novel of suspense, raising questions about memory, history, privacy, democracy, and the limits of human knowledge.

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Image via Europa
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Image via Europa

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