The East

I generally get tired of films pushing politics throughout their story with all this left-wing, right-wing crap, that because of the focus of the group of people who make that type of film, so becomes an entanglement of an unnecessary debate with audiences and critics, that the film itself becomes lost. The East tells its message straight and clear and understands that most will agree with a majority of its ideas, but never loses sight of the story and the characters its wants to portray. The East follows an operative for a PI firm who is handpicked to infiltrate an extreme anarchist group who focus their sights on major corporations for the crimes they have committed on humanity. I agree that that basic synopsis probably will make a few shy away from seeing it, but I don't believe anyone will come out of the film in a heated debate with the next person on its political issues, however timely. It has a great perspective instead on what we as individuals value most. It never allows itself to succumb to any political wash-over, but instead takes a side for the characters and where they stand as people that manages to invest us in the emotional elements rather than just straight ideals. Brit Marling plays the operative at hand and also co-wrote the screenplay with up-and-comer, Zal Batmanglij. They both worked together and the equally excellent Sound of My Voice last year and its apparent that they have continued to build their ground in their respective fields, each finding a voice to be heard away from the mainstream flow. The East is simply just a solid, taut and investing thriller that values telling the story of its characters, while keeping the political stance to the side and also having fun tangling the audience up its in web.

The trailer presented this film as thriller focused on eco-terrorism. Unfortunately it delves into a drama leaving anything engaging about a thriller in the foyer. Leaving the cinema I felt disappointed and glad to have a cineworld membership in the UK. Paying for this would have been upsetting given the cost of tickets today. How often do we want the bad guys to succeed? Not often in my book but when up corporations they choice was easy. However a dull storyline, convoluted script and predictable outcomes hindering this film from being a memorable thriller. It's a shame because it had a very interesting and real concept, with a strong 20 to 30 mins opening phase. After that I lost interest. The story unfolds slowly here onwards and focuses on the drama between characters, which can be a good thing if executed well. Unfortunately because none of the characters are worth caring about it becomes uninteresting and not engaging. I did enjoy the eco-terrorism acts and wanted more of it. Use of the internet to spread their message was also quite realistic, along with the mystery behind organising them to ensure secrecy.

This is a movie in which you debate with yourself, where would you draw the line in search of justice against greedy corporations, if that corporations inflicted on you the kind of damage they did on the characters of this movie. Knowing that it was inspired by actual actions that some corporations have taken, just makes us think even harder on whats going on in our world. The acting is very good, everyone plays their character very well. You just have to feel sympathy for all of the character especially "Doc". I recommend anyone who wants to see a movie which gives you something important to think about to watch this. Very well done. 8 out of 10!

The East: an environmentalist group following the philosophy of an eye for an eye. The movie follows Sarah, an agent trying to infiltrate The East. The movie was almost always exciting, but showed more of the emotional side of the characters. I had a lot of fun with this one. At times I found myself holding my breath, and couldn't figure out why. The movie had a good flow to it, with enough exciting parts to keep you from falling asleep. My biggest complaint with the movie is it didn't go as deep into the emotional sides of things and felt like it wanted to be more of a mainstream movie because of it.

The East is the kind of movie that makes you want to join the fight, raise your voice and be heard. The good. Extremely immersive. A incredible story with lots of emotions, conflicts, opposing moralities, and a stupefying journey. It is gripping and you will not be left unmoved. The actors. Brit Marling and Ellen Page both give us a great performance. I was disappointed by Alexander Skarsgård, I thought that he was the weak player of the cast. The rest of the cell was pretty solid: Toby Kebbell, Shiloh Fernandez, Aldis Hodge, and Danielle Macdonald. And I should mention the nice work done by Patricia Clarkson as the director of the private security firm. The bad. The ending is rushed. It feels like there was missing material at the end of filming and they couldn't go back to get what they needed and had to edit it with what they had. The ugly. Nothing. The result. A must see for anyone.

source: The East

I really like the actress Brit Marling, and I've seen Another Earth & Sound of My Voice. I think she's got a very good rhythm to her, and she's certainly on the up. This film was flawed by having filler at various moments, or unusual and generally not relevant or useful side tracks. It's quite a nice film though, could have been improved in execution, but it's a good sign of talent from an up and coming writer. I think given the time needed, she could write some real classics in due course.

Really boring. useless scenes. horrible acting. only slight curiosity (1 viewing)

The East is one of the best films I've seen from 2013. It's a mystery thriller, about the emotional an physical journey of an intelligence officer while infiltrating an anarchist group. It takes you trough all the emotions, with some intense and captivating scenes that keeps you hooked for the start, right to the end. I would have personally like a little more detail and even a deeper and closer look into the lives of the anarchist, but I find myself wondering if that's not the real hooking factor of this movie, the need to want to know more. I can definitely see a sequel in the future and even though this might not be every bodies cup of tea, if you enjoy a good mystery, this movie will not disappoint.