Privacy is a crime: The sobering anti-anonymity of Anon

SNAPSHOT
A dystopian sci-fi thriller from writer/director Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, The Host), Anon centers on a detective (Owen) living in a world where privacy and anonymity have been completely eliminated. When he discovers a woman (Seyfried) who has no digital footprint, it leads him on the trail of a bigger crime in the works. (synopsis via Coming Soon)

While we’ve been sharing photos on Facebook and tweeting out our thoughts on Twitter, it appears that Big Brother, or a version thereof has made merry with our privacy.

Developments including the Cambridge Analytica scandal at Facebook and the Chinese Government’s decision to place a social value on each of its citizens undersocres that while digital connectivity has brought us much good, it has also ushered in some less than palatable side effects.

Anon, written and directed by Andrew Niccol, runs with this idea, in some parts of the story quite literally, taking us into a world where anonymity is not only impossible but for all intents and purposes a crime, with the ultimate act of rebellion being to go off the grid.

Alas, it appears from a number of reviews that the idea may be better than the execution as this review from RogerEbert.com by Nick Allen underscores:

“With Anon, Niccol still has a catchy passion for original, high-concept sci-fi. I just wish it all made for a far more interesting execution.”

Still while it may not be the best work from the man who gave Gattaca and Lord of War, it’s an intriguing and timely discussion we need to have in a world where privacy is well and truly on the endangered species list, if not effectively extinct.

Anon opens in UK on May 10 and elsewhere via Netflix, dates to be confirmed.