Title – The East (2013)

Director – Zal Batmanglij (Sound of my Voice)

Cast – Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgard, Ellen Page, Toby Kebbell, Patricia Clarkson

Plot – Freshly employed at a private intelligence agency run by Sharon (Clarkson) young up and comer Sarah (Marling) finds her job increasingly hard to do and her allegiances tested when she finds herself deep undercover in Eco-Terrorism outfit The East, which includes it’s leader Benji (Skarsgard) and dedicated followers Izzy (Page) and Doc (Kebbell).

“Spy on us, we’ll spy on you”

Review by Eddie on 11/10/2013

Following up from there collaborative debut in the form of the well-made thriller Sound of my Voice director Batmanglij and his acting muse Marling have again here with The East ( with producers including the Scott Brothers) crafted an intriguing thriller that while not reaching any major heights of greatness remains involving and original and offers up enough to suggest what we have here is a duo that is well worth getting excited over.

Reading about The East it’s clear that both Batmanglij and Marling (who co-wrote the film together) were aiming for that 70’s paranoia/thriller that worked so well with films such as All The Presidents Men/The Conversation and so on. It’s refreshing to see a film in the same ilk as these great films in the age we live in and The East should be congratulated on feeling so fresh. This feeling of originality is also attributed the topical and news of the week setting of its story.

Centring the film on a group of eco-terrorists allows The East to focus on issues that whether you like it or not are affecting you and I on a daily basis. In concerns to this The East could be talking about the greedy and money hungry pharmaceutical companies or global conglomerates that couldn’t care less about polluting the environment or human beings. It’s a scary topic that is played out well by all involved particularly the increasingly good Brit Marling as the torn between two worlds Sarah and True Blood’s Skarsgard as the movements leader Benji.

While perhaps losing some of its flare and momentum towards the final hurdle The East is one of the better more imaginative thrillers this year and arguably previous years. After seeing this so close to my viewing of Sound of my Voice I can safely say that the team of Batmanglij and Marling is one I am looking forward to seeing develop over the years as long as they keep their hand on original material like they have shown so far.

P.S – Does Ellen Page’s forehead get bigger with each passing movie or is that just me?

3 and a half “Jams” out of 5

Related articles

• The East (mrcsays.wordpress.com)
• Review: The East (2013) (australianfilmreview.wordpress.com)
• Review – The East (thepopcornjunkie.com)
• The East (2013): Cult Espionage (madaboutmoviez.com)