Review of The East (2013) by Ahmad K — 13 Sep 2013

The East (PG-13, 2013).

Starring: Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgard, Ellen Page, Toby Kebbell & Patricia Clarkson.

Directed By: Zal Batmanglij.

Written By: Brit Marling (screenplay) & Zal Batmanglij(screenplay).

Overall Score: 8.4.

Minor Spoilers!

The East follows Sarah (Brit Marling), a young investigator for a private security firm who is tasked with finding and infiltrating an eco-terrorist organization. This group, known as The East, has claimed responsibility for several attacks; each one being retaliation for alleged crimes committed by the big-wigs of major companies. In the opening credits, an oil magnate's home is vandalized and pumped full of crude oil after his company was found responsible for a massive oil spill. The East, as a group, believes that justice cannot turn a blind eye to corporate criminals. They believe that the people who perpetrate these crimes, even if by simply denying their existence, deserve to be punished.

Brit Marling stars in this well done film that she herself co-penned. For the most part, her performance is convincing, faltering only rarely at the fault of her writing more than her acting. She conveys the internal conflict she is faced with very well. Sarah struggles with the age-old moral dilemma of whether or not to stop something that she has been taught is wrong, even if she believes it is being done for justifiable reasons.

After receiving the assignment to track down The East, Sarah starts by gradually working her way through members of the local counter-culture. After a while she finds herself in a large house in the middle of the woods with a group of people who she eventually discovers to be The East. The apparent leaders of The East are Benji (Skarsgard) and Izzy (Page) who are cordial but suspicious of their new guest. There is a marked "Manson Family" vibe to the group as a whole, yet there is something under the surface that hints that nothing that they are doing is sinister. But it's not exactly good either...

After earning the trust of Benji and Izzy, they decide to include Sarah in their next "jam". After discovering that one of their own, Doc (Kebbell), has permanent brain damage and prosopagnosia (the inability to recognize faces) as a result of taking a specific medication, they decide to retaliate. The East targets the CEO and other high-ranking members of a pharmaceutical giant, poisoning them with the very drug they mass-produce and sell to the public. After the success of this first "jam" they continue with several more, each growing more severe and more personal.

There is something that I found very alluring about The East. I think we all have a part in us that wishes that we could do something to try to rectify the atrocities that we see on the news day in and day out. I also believe that having blind faith in anything, especially our government, is incredibly foolish. This film gave me a feeling of longing; I wished I could do something like this in real life (not so much the murdering, but the principle of making people accountable). I felt like the causes they were backing were worthy and very true to our lives. All American citizens should want to be able to say to their government, "If you spy on us, we'll spy on you".

The writing could have been better, but it wasn't awful. The supporting cast was spot-on. Skarsgard and Page both gave exemplary performances, as did Kebbell and Clarkson. I could have gone for more in the character development department, but it wasn't non-existent. Visually, the film was very pretty, mixing the beauty of nature and the horrors of mankind's effect on nature very delicately. In that sense, it was reminiscent of Lars Von Trier's Antichrist, where natural beauty and macabre violence were intertwined so tightly.

The East is worth watching, if for nothing else, for the simple fact that it makes you think. It makes you question if you'd be willing to break the law to stand up for what you believe in. It makes you wonder how far you would go to ensure the success of your cause. It makes you wonder if a revolution is what we need right now. It's a film packed with food for thought and buoyed by quality performances and stellar visuals. In the end, the biggest payoff is the introspective argument you'll have with yourself when it's over.