Full Circle (2023)

It feels true to a film-maker long preoccupied with economic inequity and attempts to subvert it, though I can’t imagine many viewers will see all these underwhelming plots through to the finish.

We’re going to give Full Circle a very tentative STREAM IT, because we’ve got confidence that Solomon and Soderbergh have a way to bring these characters and stories into a tighter focus. But, boy, it might be a tough first couple of hours getting to that point.

Full Circle is an odd show. Soderbergh’s virtuosity behind the camera keeps the series compelling and you can frequently spot the elements that made Solomon want to tell this story in the first place. But in terms of the unifying values you might hope for given the series’ title and its myriad top-shelf names? Well, the storylines may come together, but Full Circle does not.

One reason the show doesn’t quite stick the landing is that we just aren’t given enough reasons to care why these things are happening to these people specifically — there’s an air of detachment in the way we cycle between these inter-connected groups, and the action feels simultaneously rushed and far too stretched out.

An impressive cast makes this HBO limited series reasonably watchable, but in this case, what goes around doesn’t completely come around.

“Full Circle,” despite a twist that spares the kidnapped teen at its center, sinks under the weight of whatever it’s trying to say about borders and bribery and the wealthy and the poor because what it’s ultimately interested in is the private agony of individual conscience.

Despite its busyness, “Full Circle” can be hard going — a sort of eventful slog. This is somewhat alleviated in later episodes, as the director dials back the stylishness and lets his characters, who have filled out a little over time, quietly converse, like reasonable people.

[Steven Soderbergh is] more equipped than the Brownes to handle multiple problems at once. But he can’t quite shape this Circle into something entirely worthy of all the talent contained within it.