Circle - Movie Review

50 strangers unwillingly participated in a deathly voting games that put our collective social standards to the test with the winner being the last man/woman standing. 

(*) Spoiler alert! There are minor spoilers in this review. I highly recommend that you check out the movie first before reading the review.

The Good

Circle gets straight to the point. The movie starts with 50 people already in a room, forced to participate. They also kinda explain the rules in the first 5 minutes. It grabs your attention in the balls, wasting no time for foreplay. The plot is straight-forward: you must be the last man/woman standing. A simple goal, lives at stake and time pressure, all 3 basic ingredients come together to make a great movie. On top of that, the movie also has some great mysteries and a very thought-provoking message. 

What determines who's the most valuable person to live? Is it their ability to contribute to society? Are old people deserve to die before kids because they have lived a longer life? Circle points out the absurdity of our poorly constructed social structure while simultaneously reveals the ugly truth within the system: it's all chivalry and Mr. nice guys no judgment until our asses are on the line. This message is highlighted with each and every minute passed. The high moral people who criticize others still ended up participate in the game. Black guys still ended up removed from play pretty early on despite everyone claimed to not be a racist. If you have an opinion and you're vocal about it, chances are you're gonna die in the next round, whether the opinion is right or wrong. When no one is safe, lives become equal. 

The movie highlighted how humanity usually mistakes these concepts.

Circle is also a low budget movie and with that comes great charms. I'm a huge fan when it comes to movie with limited location and cast and Circle turns these cons into pros. 90% of this movie is shot inside a black room, letting the message and the casts shine. Having no star power in this movie is also a blessing. Anyone can drop death at any given moment, predicting becomes impossible. If this movie has Will Smith or Scarlet Johansson, you already know who's gonna make it to at least top 3. 

The Bad

There aren't a lot of bad things to be said about Circle. The special effects could be better. The room could used a bit more flaring design. The killing could be done in a more spectacular way. The acting is just serviceable. The flaws are minimal and it can be fix with a higher budget.

My biggest complain is the speed of figuring out the alien's rule. The first few basic rules were being discovered in just the first 5 minutes. Given how (un)smart people around me are, this is highly unrealistic. After a dozen bodies dropped, people just give up. Instead of trying a bunch of other theories out, they just kinda accepted their fate and play the game how they think it should be played. For me, I will at least try to pee on the machine....

The Asian dude discovered the voting mechanic in 1 round of observation is just the best stereotype.

The Extra

Drawing lessons from movies is kinda my thing so Circle easily became my favorite. Here are a few that I've picked up: 

- Doesn't matter how smart or well-conditioned you are, if you panic, you'll die. Every problems can be solved (or dodged) when you're calm.

- Lady luck is a bitch. Talents can't do shit if fate hates your ass. So the next time you failed, blame it on luck to feel better.

- There's nothing worse than lying. Through breaking a group agreement or straight up lying for advantages, these people's punishments always come right after the truth. Unless you know how to bend words super accurately, don't attempt to lie. 

- Right or wrong, fact or fiction, people don't want to hear opposing opinions. If you find yourself in this type of group, get the fuck out, even if get the fuck out means death.

- People reveal their true nature when there's pressure (more specifically time pressure). Everyone hates the black guy but no one wants to admit it. During the last seconds of the chaotic argument, someone yelled "black guy" and boom. If you want to understand someone, put them in a time pressure situation. 

- Gimmicks may work, but it's never the best choice. The silence man made it to top 4 using a "strategy" of not participating, but top 4 is not good enough in the game of life and death. You can use gimmicks for your secondary goals like playing games, mastering a hobby or studying. For areas where you need to be the best (like your day job), hard and smart work is always better. 

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Overall, Circle is a great movie. I rate it a "you should watch this immediately" rating. 

Quanny Nguyen