In the near future, the government requires every citizen to wear an ocular implant that records everything they see and overlays information about people and objects onto their view. Criminal investigations consist of reviewing these recordings to decide who is guilty. Detective Sal Frieland, of the metropolitan police, encounters a woman whose trail vanishes from every record, a puzzle that soon becomes central to a series of homicides in which the visual evidence has been altered. Sal, determined to unmask an elusive suspect called Anon, finds himself caught between the system's constant surveillance and his own doubts.

How it was made

Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, the film was a co-production involving Sky Cinema and Netflix, with Daniel Baur producing alongside Niccol. Clive Owen joined in January 2016 and Amanda Seyfried in March of that year, playing a woman without a digital footprint who is invisible to the police. Principal photography began in early September 2016 in New York City, with further scenes shot in Toronto, where many shots were filmed at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Christophe Beck composed the score and Amir Mokri handled cinematography. The style blends thriller and cyberpunk science fiction, with staging that makes the augmented-reality displays visible.

Reception and legacy

The film premiered on Netflix on 4 May 2018 and, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, reached cinemas and Sky Cinema's on-demand service on 11 May. Critics were largely lukewarm. It scored 54 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating mixed or average reviews. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave it two stars out of five, and Stephen Dalton of The Hollywood Reporter found its paranoia somewhat glib and dated. Empire awarded three stars out of five and praised its chilling relevance. Its concern with surveillance places it among recent works reflecting on privacy in the digital age, though it never matched the impact of Gattaca or The Truman Show.