We might all be a little concerned about privacy and authoritarians accessing the sheer volume of information we share – knowingly and not – on social media and elsewhere. And we worry about companies getting their hands on it. That's part of the driving force for The Circle, starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks, and the new trailer is below.
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). 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 the aim of a new age of transparency and civility.
Initially, it all seems too good to be true – Mae gets help with her father's MS, and the company really does appear to be benevolent. Of course, the "too good" clause kicks in, especially when the Circle's originator (John Boyega) alerts her to the dangerous possibilities. And of course, with her every move watched, Mae becomes both suspicious and falls under suspicion herself...
With Patton Oswalt and Karen Gillan also in the cast, The Circle is out in the States on 28 April, but is still frustratingly without a confirmed UK release date.
Tom Hanks And Emma Watson Are Watching You In The First Trailer For The Circle