Film "Sphere" (2017): actors and roles

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The Sphere is a Hollywood technothriller 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. Starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson. The film takes place in the near future or alternate present. This is one of many stories about how information technology becomes a tool for total surveillance and control.

Name

The English word circle, in this case translated into Russian as "sphere", actually means "circle". Due to such a free adaptation of the title for domestic distribution, the film can easily be confused with the 1998 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 marketers more sonorous and able to attract the attention of the Russianaudience.

Technothriller

The film belongs to a hybrid cinematic genre that combines science fiction, spy drama and action. Thrillers of this type contain an unusually large amount of technical details associated with some new invention around which the plot unfolds. Revolutionary scientific discoveries in films of this genre are usually related to the military sphere. Writers 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 pure imagination, but are based on relatively realistic forecasts of the development of science in the near future.

Storyline

The main character, whose name is Mae Holland, becomes an employee of the giant Internet corporation Sphere, which creates next-generation technologies. This job seems to her like a once in a lifetime chance. A career at the world's leading social media company could help Mei achieve all her dreams. The founder and head of the corporation, Eamon Bailey, draws attention to a young talented employee. He invites Mei to take part in a revolutionary experiment that changes traditional ideas about personal freedom and ethical standards. The essence of the new project lies in the widespread installation of miniature video cameras, thanks to which the life of any person becomes completely open to the whole world. One of the leading politicians, having learned about this initiative, decides to join it and make his 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. Mei meets Ty Lafitte, the direct developer of this revolutionary technology, and learns that he is also tormented by controversy related to the deprivation of people's right to privacy.

Actors

The image of the main character of the fantastic thriller was embodied on the screen by the star of the Harry Potter saga, Emma Watson. After finishing work on the cinematic version of the cult series of books about the adventures of young wizards, she rarely appears in films and is quite picky 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 technological corporation was played by the legendary Tom Hanks. British actor John Boyega, familiar to viewers from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, played Ty Lafitte, the creator of a global online identification system. The image of the main character's friend, thanks to which Mei 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 from the 2017 film "Sphere" died suddenly as a result ofdiseases. Bill Paxton, who played the father of the main character, died two months before the picture was released. The cause of death was complications after heart surgery. A month after the premiere, actress Glenn Headley, who played the mother of the main character, passed away. She died due to a blocked pulmonary artery. For these two talented actors, the 2017 film "Sphere" was the last film work.

Filming process

The first reports of plans for a film adaptation of Dave Eggers' work appeared in the media in 2014. Around the same time, it became known that Tom Hanks had agreed to play one of the main roles in the film. Recruiting the rest of the cast for 2017's The Sphere proved to be a tricky business. Emma Watson, despite her fame and talent, was not originally a candidate for the female lead. The creators of the picture wanted May Holland to be played by the Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, familiar to the audience thanks to her participation in one of the spy thrillers about the adventures of Jason Bourne. However, due to her employment in other projects, the producers were forced to invite the star of the Harry Potter saga.

A certain problem of roles and actors in the 2017 film "Sphere" arose due to the British origin of Emma Watson, Karen Gillan and John Boyeg. They had to imitate the American pronunciation, because, in accordance with the script, the action of the picture takes place in the United States. Despite the efforts of the British, the artificial accent seemed unconvincing to the English-speaking audience.

Premier

The cast of "Sphere" first presented the film to the attention of the general public at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2017. A few days later, the fantastic thriller was released worldwide. Box office receipts quickly recouped the cost of filming and the fees of the actors of the "Sphere". Although the amount of income did not fully meet the expectations of the producers, the commercial success of the picture is beyond 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 called devastating without exaggeration.

Negative ratings

Almost all authoritative Internet resources that collect and study reviews of cinema lovers gave the film very low scores. Critics acknowledge that the actors and roles of "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 a lack of intrigue. The evil that the technology corporation brings to the world is obvious from the very beginning. The development of the plot, devoid of unexpected twists, is unable to keep the audience in suspense. In the past, many works have already been created dedicated to both the era of information technology and the society of total surveillance and control in the style of George Orwell. Despite the impressive sinceritysome actors and roles, "Sphere" in 2017 practically does not stand out against their background. According to one of the critics, the plot of the film seems to be taken from yesterday's newspaper headlines. It adds nothing 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 unbridled development of high technology.

Positive feedback

For the sake of fairness, it should be noted that the reviews of individual professional film critics are quite positive. They speculate that the film is actually much subtler and smarter than it might seem at first glance, and its merits go beyond the brilliant performances of the actors. 2017's The Sphere is not your typical dystopian drama in which abstract evil oppressors seek absolute control over society. Rather, it is an artistic warning to today's social media culture of requiring too much personal information to be revealed. The main value of the film lies not in depicting a high-tech digital fascist future, but in explaining the mentality that leads to its occurrence. Viewing the painting "Sphere" makes you think about how much what is happening today is similar to this fantastic story.