The Scope is a Hollywood techno thriller directed by James Ponsoldt based on the novel of the same name by writer and screenwriter Dave Eggers. The film was released in 2017. The creators of the picture managed to collect an impressive cast. The leading actors were Tom Hanks and Emma Watson. The film takes place in the near future or alternative present. This is one of many stories about how information technology is turning into an instrument of total surveillance and control.
Title
The English word circle, in this case translated into Russian as “sphere”, actually means “circle”. Due to such a free adaptation of the name for domestic distribution, the film can easily be confused with the American science fiction thriller filmed in 1998 about the adventures of a group of scientists exploring a mysterious spaceship at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, in which such Hollywood stars as Dustin Hoffman played the main roles Sharon Stone and Samuel L. Jackson. Probably, the word “sphere” seemed to the marketers more sonorous and able to attract the attention of the Russian audience.
Technotriller
The film belongs to the hybrid cinema genre, combining science fiction, spy drama and action. Thrillers of this type contain an unusually large number of technical details related to a new invention around which the plot unfolds. Revolutionary scientific discoveries in films of this genre usually relate to the military sphere. Scriptwriters and directors of such thrillers love to show the audience all the details of the development and creation of fantastic technologies. The inventions that appear in the paintings of this genre, in most cases, are not a pure figment of the imagination, but are based on relatively realistic forecasts of the development of science in the near future.
Plot
The main character, whose name is May Holland, becomes an employee of the giant Internet Corporation "Sphere", which creates the technology of the next generation. This work seems to her a once-in-a-lifetime chance. A career in a company that occupies the position of a world leader in social media can help May make her dreams come true. The founder and head of the corporation, Amon Bailey, draws attention to a young talented employee. He invites May to take part in a revolutionary experiment that changes the traditional notions of personal freedom and ethical standards. The essence of the new project is the ubiquitous installation of miniature video cameras, thanks to which the life of any person becomes completely open to the whole world. Having learned about this initiative, one of the leading politicians decides to join it and make its daily communication absolutely transparent for voters. The main character also agrees to create her profile in the experimental system, but soon begins to have doubts about the ethical side of the project. May gets acquainted with Tay Lafitt, the direct developer of this revolutionary technology, and learns that he is also tormented by the contradictions associated with depriving people of the right to privacy.
Actors
The image of the main character of a fantastic thriller was embodied on the screen by the star of the Harry Potter saga, Emma Watson. After completing work on a cinematic version of the cult series of books about the adventures of young wizards, she rarely appears in films and is rather meticulous about her choice of roles. Among the actors of the film “Sphere” in 2017, there are other world-famous names. The role of the owner of a powerful technology corporation was played by the legendary Tom Hanks. British actor John Boyega, familiar to viewers from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, played Tay Lafitte, creator of the global online identification system. The image of the girlfriend of the main character, thanks to which May was able to get a job in the corporation, was embodied on the screen by the Scottish actress and screenwriter Karen Gillan, who in the past starred mainly in horror films.
Last roles
The premiere of the picture was accompanied by tragic events. Two actors of the film “Sphere” in 2017 suddenly died as a result of illness. Bill Paxton, who played the father of the main character, died two months before the picture was released. The cause of death was the complications that arose after surgery on the heart. A month after the premiere, actress Glenn Headley, who played the mother of the main character , passed away. She died due to a blockage in the pulmonary artery. For these two talented actors, the 2017 Sphere movie was the last movie job.
Filming
The first reports of plans to film the work of Dave Eggers appeared in the media in 2014. Around the same time, it became known that Tom Hanks agreed to play one of the main roles in the film. The selection of the remaining actors of the film "Sphere" in 2017 was not easy. Emma Watson, despite her fame and talent, was not originally a candidate for the main female role. The creators of the picture wanted May Holland to play the Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, familiar to the audience thanks to her participation in one of the spy action films about the adventures of Jason Bourne. However, due to her employment in other projects, producers were forced to invite the star of the Harry Potter saga.
A certain problem of roles and actors in the film “Sphere” in 2017 arose due to the British origin of Emma Watson, Karen Gillan and John Boyega. They had to imitate the American pronunciation, because, according to the script, the picture takes place in the United States. Despite the efforts of the British, the artificial accent seemed unconvincing to the English-speaking audience.
Premiere
The actors of the film "Sphere" first presented the picture to the general public at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2017. A few days later, the fantastic thriller went on sale worldwide. The box office quickly recouped the costs of filming and the fees of the actors of the "Sphere". Although the size of the income did not fully meet the expectations of the producers, the commercial success of the picture is not in doubt. For director James Ponsoldt, this project was the most profitable in his career. Thanks to the work of a team of talented actors, the film “Sphere” in 2017 managed to win the sympathy of the audience. However, the reviews of many professional critics can be literally called devastating.
Negative ratings
Almost all authoritative Internet resources that collect and study the reviews of cinema lovers gave the film very low scores. Critics acknowledge that the actors and roles of The Sphere make a favorable impression. However, the main idea of the film and its script only exploit a theme that is close to modern people.
Most critics point to a lack of originality and lack of intrigue. The evil that a technology corporation brings into the world is evident from the very beginning. Devoid of unexpected twists and turns, the plot development is unable to keep the audience in suspense. In the past, many works have already been created devoted both to the era of information technology and to the society of total observation and control in the style of George Orwell. Despite the impressive sincerity of some actors and roles, the 2017 “Sphere” practically does not stand out from their background. According to one of the critics, the plot of the film seems to be taken from yesterday's newspaper headlines. He does not add anything new to the topic of total paranoid control, nor to the sci-fi predictions of revolutionary changes in people's daily lives as a result of the rampant development of high technology.
Positive reviews
For the sake of justice, it is worth noting that the reviews of individual professional film critics are quite positive. They speculate that in fact the film is much thinner and smarter than it might seem at first glance, and its advantages are not limited to the brilliant play of the actors. The 2017 “Sphere” is not a typical anti-utopian drama in which abstract evil oppressors seek to establish absolute control over society. Rather, it is an artificially expressed warning to the modern culture of social media that requires the disclosure of too much personal information. The main value of the film is not in depicting a high-tech digital fascist future, but in explaining the mentality that leads to its emergence. Viewing the picture "Sphere" makes you think about how what is happening today is similar to this fantastic story.