Anon

Anon

Year: 2018

Runtime: 100 min

Language: English

Director: Andrew Niccol

Echo Score: 68

Budget: $20M

Sci-FiThriller

In a future where all citizens’ memories are public record, detective Sal Frieland investigates a baffling string of murders. This crime-free society seemingly impossible, his investigation leads him to the mysterious Girl. Her existence challenges the foundations of their world and threatens to expose a hidden truth about their seemingly perfect system.

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In a near‑future world where every thought, sight and memory is streamed into a collective network, privacy has become a relic of the past. The omnipresent “Mind’s Eye” implant records every moment of a citizen’s life, feeding an endless flow of data known as the Ether. This hyper‑transparent society prides itself on order and safety, yet the constant hum of surveillance creates a strange, intimate tension—people are seen yet remain mysterious, their inner lives displayed for all to scrutinise. The visual overload feels both dazzling and oppressive, painting a city that glitters with neon certainty while shadows linger in the corners of shared consciousness.

Into this relentless tableau walks Sal Frieland, a veteran detective whose job is to sift through the flood of recorded lives to find the faintest irregularities. Trained to read the digital fingerprints left behind by everyone, he carries the weariness of a man who has seen the world stripped of secrets, and yet senses that something essential is slipping through the cracks. His methods are a blend of old‑school intuition and the high‑tech tools of a police force that relies on real‑time access to every mind. As he navigates the sleek corridors of a city that never sleeps, his steady composure masks a growing curiosity about the limits of a system that claims total visibility.

His investigation brings him face‑to‑face with the enigmatic Girl, a figure who seems to exist without a trace in the all‑seeing Ether. She moves through the city like a phantom, her lack of digital presence challenging the very foundation of a society built on perpetual exposure. Her quiet defiance hints at a deeper secret, a gap in the network that threatens to unravel the illusion of perfection. The contrast between Sal’s grounded, methodical approach and the girl’s elusive anonymity creates a compelling tension, suggesting that the truth of this world may be far more fragile than its citizens believe.

As the detective delves deeper, the atmosphere tightens: neon‑lit streets pulse with hidden currents, and every whispered conversation could be a clue. The film balances sleek, futuristic aesthetics with a brooding, noir‑like mood, inviting viewers to wonder what lies beneath a civilization that has traded privacy for safety. In this delicate dance of perception and reality, Sal must decide whether to trust the system that defines his world—or to follow the faint, unrecorded trail left by the mysterious girl, whose very existence may hold the key to a truth no one else can see.

Last Updated: August 10, 2025 at 02:38

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