Circle (2015 film)

Plot

Fifty people wake up in a darkened room, arranged in two concentric circles around a black dome. Noises sound when they attempt to move or touch the others. When someone ignores the warning and leaves formation, a beam from the dome kills them. As the others panic, a man attempts to calm them. In mid-sentence, he is killed by the device. Thereafter, every two minutes, another person is killed. After several people die, they realize they can vote for who dies. When nobody votes, one is selected randomly.

After arguing over criteria, a college guy suggests that they vote together for the elderly. Having bought several minutes by not arguing, they discuss where they are, how they got there, who has abducted them, and why. One person claims to remember being in traffic and attempting to flee Los Angeles, which jogs the memories of others. He is the only one to remember his abduction until an elderly man says he saw and spoke to aliens. As the elderly man describes them, several others accuse him of lying to prolong his life; he is killed next.

When the college guy proposes a middle-aged woman as their next target, several people who do not consider her elderly object. The woman describes herself as a 52-year-old cancer survivor, which draws suggestions that she is going to die anyway. A doctor joins others in her defense, and when the college guy pushes for the cancer survivor's death regardless, people select him instead. Several people say they recognize the others: the doctor and a man possibly had an affair, a man identifies the woman next to him as his wife, and a cop points out an alleged wife-beater, a tattooed man who initially denies the allegations but under pressure says she deserved it and is eliminated.

After several minorities are quickly eliminated, an African-American man claims the process has become racist. Several others dispute this, but when the cop goes on a racist rant, he is selected next. They attempt to vote for everyone equally, but one man votes for the pregnant woman, so a man identified as Eric votes for him. They tie, and the man is killed in a run-off vote. Intrigued, the captives experiment with voting. They find they cannot vote for themselves, and all ties must be resolved, meaning that one of the final two people left must volunteer to die or else both will die. After several volunteer to die, a skeptical faction led by an atheist and an Asian kid antagonizes the theists who praised the volunteers' faith. The atheist is briefly saved, but when he identifies a pretty girl beside him as a porn star, which she denies, he is killed. A lesbian becomes a target, but the lawyer who argued strongest for her selection is killed instead.

After several eliminations, two main blocs emerge: one that wants to protect the pregnant woman and a young girl, and another that wants to eliminate them immediately as a threat to their survival. A soldier, a one-armed man, and Eric argue everyone should sacrifice themselves to save the girl and pregnant woman for last, while a faction led by a rich man argues that everyone is equal, and no special privileges should be afforded to anyone. The husband is forced to vote with the soldier's bloc when they threaten to eliminate his wife, but, under interrogation, they admit they concocted the relationship to curry favor. They are both eliminated, and the two factions aggressively thin their opponents' numbers.

Eventually, only Eric, the pregnant woman, a silent man who has never voted, and the girl are left. Eric theorizes that aliens have used the process to learn about humanity's values. After the silent man is eliminated, Eric encourages the girl to join him in suicide. As she dies, Eric quickly votes to kill the pregnant woman. Eric ties with the pregnant woman's unborn child, whom he votes to kill. Eric wakes in Los Angeles where he joins a group of people watching a fleet of hovering alien craft.

Production

The script was inspired by 12 Angry Men. Producer and star Nardelli, already a fan of the directors' webseries The Vault, become involved after they pitched the script to him. Pre-production took about three years. Nardelli said he was impressed with the script's ability to cover political, social, and psychological issues. In comparing it to Cube, he said Circle provides more answers and gives more of a definitive ending. Casting for some roles was broad, and others were specific; the intention was always to have a wide cross-section. The writer-directors did not intend for any character to be outright villainous, though several espouse intolerant opinions. Hann and Miscione wanted to address topical issues and provide a cynically-tinged, antagonistic presence for the film. Principal photography began in February 2014 and lasted two weeks. All of the scenes were storyboarded prior to shooting, and the directors tried to be as prepared as possible; regardless, they still encountered problems, as all actors had to be available for every shoot. Nardelli said that the psychological extremes experienced by the cast made it difficult to wind down after shooting.

Release

Circle premiered on May 28, 2015, at the Seattle International Film Festival. FilmBuff released it to video-on-demand on October 16, 2015.

Reception

John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter called it a "Twilight Zone-y drama [that] works better than expected". Tony Kay of City Arts Online wrote, "The movie engineers suspense expertly, and there's puzzle-box fun in trying to piece together exactly what's going on as each prospective execution barrels forward." Ain't It Cool News wrote that although it is not "a fully realized concept", it is "thought-provoking" and provocative. Valeria Koulikova of the Queen Anne News wrote, "While the film's attempts to address social problems are beautifully done, leaving a bit of uncertainty in the end would have made a stronger finale."