'The Circle' Trailer Song Adapts A Classic

They're watching you, Emma Watson. Or at least that's what the first trailer for James Ponsoldt's new film The Circle would have us all believe. The technology thriller (that looks like it could be a lost episode of Black Mirror) stars Emma Watson and John Boyega as employees of a massive tech company with a Steve Jobs-like founder (played by Tom Hanks) at the helm. There are so many things to fear with the ominous predicament The Circle presents — powerful internet companies, conspiracies, Hanks as a tech visionary, a tiny device that lets you share your life with the world, more Hanks as a tech visionary. But not only do the clips and moments in the film's trailer capture something chilling, but the song in The Circle trailer does as well.

As the trailer builds, a slowed-down cover of Hall & Oates's "Private Eyes" hums on in the background. At first, the song's barely audible, as Ponsoldt paints the picture of an idealistic tech company. When the trailer transitions from beatitude to malaise, "Private Eyes" grows louder. This echoes the escalating tension we can look forward to in the film, as well as what's already present in the source material's text (the bestselling 2013 novel by Dave Eggers). Watch it, below.

The "Private Eyes" lyrics that The Circle trailer seems to aptly focus on are: "They're watching you/They're watching you/Watching you/Watching you/Watching you." For the trailer and film, these lyrics appear to be twofold in their representation. One, they are a testament to (possible) conspiracies within the business, and, two, they represents ideals laid out by the company's SeeChange cameras. In the novel, the SeeChange cameras are live-video streaming cameras that watch you and everyone around you. So, not only are Watson's moves being scrupulously tracked by the massive company she just began working for, but she's being observed by small, ubiquitous cameras — and therefore the whole word — too. Everyone is.

The Circle centers around some very real and possibly prescient technological fears. "Knowing is good, but knowing everything is better." So says Bailey (Hanks), the technological mogul who appears to have nefarious intentions. What exactly those intentions are, you'll have to wait until April 28, 2017 to find out.

For now, just assume that he's watching you.

Images: EuropaCorp