The Circle (2002)

Some students at Runcie prep school form an elite club. The group is implicated in a cheating scandal and one of the club members dies mysteriously. Another member decides to try and discover the dangerous truth about Runcie.

Director:

Sidney J. Furie

Writer:

Brian Hannan

Stars:

Treat Williams, Robin Dunne, Gianpaolo Venuta

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Treat Williams	...	Mr. Spencer Runcie
Robin Dunne	...	Alex Desineau
Gianpaolo Venuta	...	Jetson Harlow (as Gian-Paolo Venuta)
Daniel Enright	...	Demian Carthy
Dylan Trowbridge	...	Baker Salsbury
J. Adam Brown	...	John Frazier
Jamie Robinson	...	Marcus Faulkner
Malin Akerman	...	Tess
Aaron Poole	...	Smitty Jacobson
Gordon Currie	...	Tom Wilkinson
Stewart Arnott	...	Mr. Turner
Alex Karzis	...	Detective Razatos
Anaya Farrell	...	Detective Sabrina
Ken James	...	Chief Lloyd Huxley
Dan Petronijevic	...	Bully #1 (as Daniel Petronijevic)

Storyline

Five friends unite to constitute a circle of sneaks and cheaters at a private boys boarding school. A file cabinet containing test papers is found tampered with and the group is implicated as a result of getting top grades for the paper. All A students are brought before the honors council for questioning. One member of the council, Smitty, vows intently to find the cheaters. Someone narcs on one of the Circle, Frazier, who soon expelled. The rest of the Circle agree to give the narc no mercy. They believe it was Faulkner, also an A student but not a member of the Circle. Faulkner is Alex's roommate; Alex is a member and believes he is innocent. Jetson Harlow, another member, sends Faulkner a fake rejection letter from MIT for revenge. Faulkner ends up dead, his death labeled a suicide.

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Plot Keywords:

torture | swimming pool | fistfight | false identity | fall | 

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Taglines:

Pledging Was Hell... Getting In Was Murder.

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Genres:

Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some sexual content and violence

User Reviews

Intriguing film: sleeper

Well written movie, that keeps you guessing the whole way...treat williams always is good. This film could have had a big budget, but is shot with moody, gritty style. The story line could seem derivative but is actually quite original and although unusual is totally viable and redefines the genre....The film plot runs through a gamut of possibilities in the prep schools potential cast of characters who could have been the culprit of what looked like an accident, then potentially a suicide and yet turns out to be foul play...The school is really run by a powerful CIA type group of unknown students that maintain justice in the school...Director Sydney Furie is a legend and knew how to shoot this project. The screenwriter clearly put a good deal of time into working out the storyline...

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 December 2002 (Spain)

Also Known As:

The Fraternity

Filming Locations:

Ridley College, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD5,400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

GFT Circle Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color