The East is intriguing: an eco-terrorist group has targeted large corporations that either pollute the environment or pollute people through pharmaceuticals. The group targets the leaders of these corporations and seeks to punish them in the same way their “victims have been punished.” However, a private security firm is on to them, and agent Sarah (Brit Marling) infiltrates the group with the intention of taking them down. But she becomes emotionally involved with the group, and falls for the group’s leader, Benji (an excellent Alexander Skarsgard). The conundrum: What does she do? One of the big problems with the thriller genre is when the audience knows the secret and the characters don’t. The scared/guilty looks, the reticence, the “I’m acting like no one else around me and I can still fit in” portrayals work only because we, the audience, believe them to work. But when you have a group of subversives whose every moment is spent looking out for such behavior and then they don’t notice it when it’s in front of their face, the film loses credibility. This film walks that fine line—there are times when we question the responses and there are times when we believe what we see. The ending is the winner. Brit Marling plays Sarah (her code name); she works for the firm and she is sent in to take the group down. Marling is a fascinating case in her own right—a graduate of Georgetown University, she was offered a job with a Wall Street firm but turned it down to pursue an acting career. She was greeted in Hollywood with blonde-bimbo parts and quickly lost interest in such roles. She decided to write her own parts, and her big break came with After Earth (2012). She co-wrote The East as well, inspired by a summer she spent traveling the country dumpster-diving and hanging out with subversives. I admire that story. Unfortunately, she is not yet a great actor. When she is paired with more seasoned actors (Skarsgard, Ellen Page, or the icy Patricia Clarkson), she is not as strong. But even her performance does not sully the film: it is interesting, provocative, and terrifying. The ideas are relevant and timely, and the overall message is welcomed. Humanizing people labeled as “terrorists” in the media is no small task, but the film does just that. In the end, we are left with a choice: What would we do? It’s playing now at the Esquire. Go! For showtimes: landmarktheatres/Market/Denver/Denver_Frameset.htm
Posted on: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 13:56:41 +0000
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