Movie review: The East (2013)
If you saw the other side of an argument from a first-hand perspective, would it change your mind? The East explores that idea with this thriller co-written (with Zal Batmanglij) by and starring Brit Marling.
As a hotshot operative for a private intelligence firm, ‘Jane’ (Brit Marling) is placed undercover in a variety of places to protect her companies’ (and their clients’) interests. When she is tasked with infiltrating an anarchist group intent on committing acts of terrorism in the name of truth, she finds her ideals and beliefs about her job being questioned by what she finds. The group, led by ‘Benji’ (Alexander Skarsgaard), are a disparate bunch. Each with their own troubled past which drives them, but loosely held together by disillusionment with the world, like survivors in a lifeboat. From ‘Izzy’ (Ellen Page), the young radical, to ‘Thumbs’ (Aldis Hodge), the ex-soldier, and ‘Doc’ (Toby Kebbell), the ex-aid worker, a varied group is formed.
The East features an impressive cast, with Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgaard, Ellen Page, and Patricia Clarkson being just the tip of the iceberg. Throughout the film, the cast gels and works well. That said, although everyone does a pretty good job with the material, I would really have liked to see more of Hillary Baack’s character, ‘Eve’, who is deaf, as there seemed to be some interesting ideas there to be explored. I would think that basing some of the story around discussing marginalisation, social exclusion, and fractured relationships using the character of ‘Eve’ may have been more unusual in this context and moved away from some of the broadstroke generalisations in the film that seem problematic to me. While they might be necessary to cram in some points, it made the whole less believable overall.
It is these generalisations and stereotypical elements that marred the film for me. The villains are fairly one-dimensional, and at times seem too clearly ‘villains’, whereas in most real life situations, things are never that obvious. Similarly, the ‘good guys’ are painted with relatively simple back stories, without enough detail in either those stories or their interactions for the conversion to the other side to be as believable as it could be. At a two hour running time, I think it would have been better to focus on a story of smaller scope, thus being able to include some more nuanced elements rather than have both.
Having said all that, there were some very interesting points made and the whole film does hang together well, both being entertaining and raising some issues to think about. You will have come across a lot of these ideas before though, but as they have obviously not gone away, it is worth re-iterating for a new generation. The concept of ‘Big Business Vs Environment’ is an old one. Self-interest, greed, disillusionment, isolation and revolution will come up time and time again, so it’s no surprise that a film such as this strikes a chord with people.
Overall, it is an effective thriller and as a piece of entertainment does a very good job. The problem is that in having eco-sensibilities that are not fully explored and generic thriller elements, it tries to stand in both camps and weakens both sides.