Screaming_egg
A must watch! Amazing in it's simplicity. Great option for any movie night.
RenaeBanae
First of, this review contains small, unnecessary spoilers, but nothing that will ruin the movie for you.When I first saw this movie, I was surprised about how good it is. It doesn't have a well know cast, and the premise is kinda weird. But the acting was actually pretty good, the characters (the one's that doesn't die right away) is well written and believable. But that said, it's certainly not a movie for everyone. There's barely any action, it's 99% dialog, which some might find annoying, and that's what makes it good. It doesn't try to appeal to the casual watchers, but works more like a movie to make you think. The movie deals with a difficult topic, that we've all probably thought about at some point - How do we decide who deserves to live and die? In that way, it kinda reminds me of Death Note, but without the action, and with more people deciding who can live and die. Besides that, the only flaw with this movie, is how 'surface level' it is. Some of the 'problems' they deal with, isn't well though about and predictable. Of course they talk about racism, sexuality, how children deserves to leave, how the old should die first, who gives more to society and so on. It feels predictable, where it would have been better to deal with other topics that isn't so 'basic'. Besides that, it's great movie for people who enjoy talky movies, with plenty of philosophic questions, but it has it's flaws. 7/10
jonricht
This movie has the feel of having been written for the stage: lots of dialogue, minimal special effects and props, a simple premise leading to lots of drama and interpersonal wrangling, etc.Still, I assumed this, and for a while it made me not want to finish watching the movie. Who wants to watch a bunch of people in a room working out their conflicts? Especially a movie where I didn't recognize any of the actors?Of course, there have been many *plays* made into movies composed almost entirely of people in a room talking, arguing and emoting - and the movies were fabulous. Oleanna, 12 Angry Men, Glengarry Glen Ross, etc.I found that as time wore on, my interest was piqued enough to make me stop wanting to NOT watch it. Indeed, really wanted to find out what happened at the end, and whether some of the ideas the characters described were true or not.Things I didn't like: some of the characters were "inconsistent". Their emotions and reasoning seemed to shift too often to be believable. Ultimately, I'm guessing this was a script issue, but it made the movie a bit less plausible than it could have been. Also, without getting into details, the ending left me feeling a bit unsatisfied.Things I liked: this was unexpectedly entertaining, and it'll leave me thinking about the premise for a little while. I'll probably recommend it to a few people, and that doesn't happen too often.
NormanCroucher
An extremely effective low-budget antidote to all the leviathan- sized sci-fi movies out there. This places 50 people in a circle and asks of them: who deserves to live and who deserves to die? Such a premise is so simple, it's almost revolutionary.This is a story of morality and how human beings deal with the imminent threat of dying, and it explores the diverse range of reactions, emotions and manipulations that exist on the spectrum. From desperation to condemnation, prejudice to privilege, hysteria to acceptance; there's an honesty at work in how the characters deal with their predicament and choices, and it's often an ugly truth to accept. To the credit of the writing/directing team Aaron Hann and Mario Miscione, they never shy away from showing just how petty and selfish the human race can be.The performances are mostly excellent across a cast of predominantly unknown faces and the script manages to keep up the pace and tension without ever slipping too far into contrivance. Usually the danger of films like this (set in a single location) is that they tend to suffer from either bad production values or run out of ideas towards the third act. Thankfully, 'Circle' embraces its beautifully minimalist style for the better and stays true to its premise right through until the very (bitter) end.
AD
