By: JWBM
Survival. We've explored this deep rooted human sense in countless entities: from real life encounters; to dramatic tellings of battling nature, and overcoming illness and disease; to just plain entertaining showcases of dressed down younglings fleeing from a homicidal maniac in the woods over a recurring theme song.
Where the spokes of life turn to a different rotation is when someone--or someones--are put into a manipulated game where they must survive in a me-or-you set of circumstances. Unlike, say, "Cube" or "The Running Man," the participants here can't use their feet, solve complex equations or even use hulking muscle to get away--all they can do is use their senses and speak to find out about their surroundings and each other to hopefully come to an understanding, resolution, or just plain save their own skin. As you can imagine, it quickly turns into a bunch of vicious, talking animals in an imaginary cage trying to use the person beneath them to escape to the top, while others are attempting to adhere to a strict moral code to save their sense of humanity and dignity.
Every two minutes--in movie time of course--a buzzer sounds and someone drops to a resonating thud. With the amount of people in one room and little prior knowledge of what's going on it sounds like a chaotic mess, though the filmmakers seem to take a minimalistic approach to balance a specific focus. For instance, a large chunk is dedicated to portraying a tug-of-war with a moral sense and a primal one. It's far reaching, yes, though there's nothing here that is too complex to throw on and get confused by. It feels more like a dramatic stage play than it does a thriller, or, say, a typical survival horror film. There's no nifty camera angles, elaborate sets to explore or explosions a foot. While this does sound sparse, the movie does have its merits and manages to set out in what it attempted to do without too many hiccups.
"Circle" manages to ask some questions and answer a few themselves, though leaves the bulk of them to the viewer to ponder on. Essentially surprises are reduced to who gets taken out/doesn't get taken out, and some hidden truths with participants. In a sense, it makes you wonder what you may have done the same or differently if put in the same shoes. "Circle" attempts to straddle being part entertainment and part psychological/philosophical. Though the movie is leaning more towards the former and isn't something that will peel back layer upon layer each time you put it on. However, it's still worth at least a watch for a bored Thursday night movie with friends over to break the ice and bounce your own theories off each other while it's running. I can see the film also having the potential to be an excellent debate starter. And, who knows, you may learn a thing or two about each other...
Rating: 6/10
Movie info: IMDB
Trailer: Youtube link
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