‘It’s easy when it’s not your home. It’s easy when it’s not your life.’
In The East’s introductory monologue, the purposeful words of eco-activist Izzy (Ellen Page, To Rome with Love) threaten retribution for sins of corporate terrorism. Under the guidance of the charismatic Benji (Alexander Skarsgård, What Maisie Knew), her rebellious titular collective plots elaborate payback schemes to call attention to careless capitalist acts. They punish pain in the manner it was committed; they provoke attention whilst endeavouring to stay anonymous; they aim to incite change by exposing the misdeeds of big business.
Sarah (Brit Marling, The Company You Keep) fights for the other side, a private counter-intelligence operative sent deep undercover within the underground organisation. Finding the nucleus of The East is the easy part; maintaining loyalty to her employer (Patricia Clarkson, One Day) as she becomes immersed in the extremities of left-wing politics proves less so. Soon, the anarchic principles of her targets and the profit-oriented aims of her mission land the striving spy at the intersection of a significant ethical quandary.
In the third film crafted by Marling as a vehicle for her talents after Another Earth and Sound of My Voice, the opening statement resonates through the machinations of the topical narrative. Her characters, co-written with director Zal Batmanglij, each embody the dichotomy of crusading for a cause from the safety of a distance – be it within a subjugated subgroup willingly waging war on the luxuries they left behind, or as a resourceful double agent playing with the freedom of another lifestyle.
The earnestness of the feature’s anti-authoritarian ideals is evident, even as it wades into morally murky waters; alas, so too is its underlying formula. Whilst Marling is still skilled at eliciting attention in sharp, smart, self-styled roles, the method of her efforts is no longer as unexpected or enigmatic as planned. Instead, despite evolving through different premises across her three actress-as-auteur offerings, the obviousness of duality and duplicity remains. The story and supporting cast may change, but the similarities are starting to show.
Slick, suspense-fuelled packaging provides ample genre twists and turns, Marling and Batmanglij’s 1970s’ influences echoing throughout the film’s construction; however, The East works better as a portrait of conflicted characters than as a conventional thriller. The air of mystery and suggestion of trouble lurks in paranoid intentions rather than precise actions. When the feature is bogged down in the mechanics of its espionage-driven plot, though still compelling, it becomes less convincing.
By design, Marling emerges as The East’s strongest on-screen performer, but an effective cast given distinctive roles – Wrath of the Titans’ Toby Kebbell and Hollywood Musical!’s Hillary Baack among them – also acquit themselves well. That they are all merely playing is never far from the audience’s mind; there’s ease, ambition and intrigue in their efforts, yet the authenticity of their subversion never quite rings true.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
The East
Director: Zal Batmanglij
USA, 2013, 116 mins
Release date: September 19
Distributor: Cinema Nova / Fox
Rated: M
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