The East (2013 film)
The East | |
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Directed by | Zal Batmanglij |
Written by |
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Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Roman Vasyanov |
Edited by | |
Music by | |
Production company | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 116 minutes |
Countries |
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Language | English |
Budget | $6.5 million[1] |
Box office | $2.4 million[2] |
The East is a 2013
Plot
Jane (
Sarah is given two nights to recover before she must leave. At an elaborate dinner involving straitjackets, Sarah is tested and fails, exposing how selfishly she and many others live their lives. Sarah is caught spying one night by Eve (a group member who is deaf) and
Another member, Izzy (Elliot Page), is the daughter of a petrochemical CEO. The group uses this connection to gain access to him and forces him to bathe in the waterway he has been using as a toxic dumping ground. This goes wrong when security arrives and shoots the fleeing Izzy. At the squat, Doc's hands tremble too much for him to perform surgery. Working under his guidance, Sarah manages to remove the bullet but Izzy dies. This is the catalyst for Sarah and Benji's romance and they have sex.
Sarah implores Benji to leave, but he insists they participate in a fourth and final jam. Sarah initially refuses but gives in. When she awakens after sleeping in the car, she realizes that Benji is driving her to Hiller Brood's headquarters. He reveals that he has always suspected her of being a spy, as did Luca, who brought her in as a test. Benji wants Sarah to obtain a
Cast
- Brit Marling as Sarah Moss/Jane Owen
- Alexander Skarsgård as Benji
- Elliot Page as Izzy
- Toby Kebbell as Doc
- Shiloh Fernandez as Luca
- Julia Ormond as Paige Williams
- Patricia Clarkson as Sharon
- Jason Ritter as Tim
- Danielle Macdonald as Tess
- Billy Slaughter as Trevor "The Fed"
- Wilbur Fitzgerald as Robert McCabe
- Aldis Hodge as Thumbs
- Billy Magnussen as Porty McCabe
- Jamey Sheridan as Richard Cannon
Production
- Zal Batmanglij – director, screenwriter
- Brit Marling – producer, screenwriter
- Ridley Scott – producer
- Michael Costigan – producer
- Jocelyn Hayes-Simpson – producer
- Tony Scott – executive producer
- Roman Vasyanov – cinematographer
- Andrew Weisblum – editor
- Bill Pankow – editor
- Halli Cauthery – music
- Harry Gregson-Williams – themes for score
- Alex DiGerlando – production designer
- Jenny Gering – costume designer
- Nikki Black – art director
- Cynthia Slagter – set decorator
The East is directed by
Batmanglij and Marling wrote to have the anarchist organization target a
Sound of My Voice, directed by Batmanglij and starring Marling, screened at the
Production of the film, which had a budget of $6.5 million,[1] took place in Shreveport, Louisiana.[8] Production designer Alex DiGerlando converted an alternative lifestyle club in Shreveport into a house for The East. The club was originally painted black and gold, and it was repainted different shades of green for the film.[6] Filming took place in late 2011;[13] Batmanglij said it lasted 26 days.[6]
The director compared the film's ambivalent ending to the one in the 2002 film 25th Hour: "I feel like it's almost as if the film’s events never happened at its end... It's sort of like what we're all capable of if we put our minds to it. There's a lot of work that needs to be done in order to make changes, even for her to make changes."[6]
Release
Screenings
The film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2013.[14] The Sundance Institute, as part of their Sundance Film Festival USA program, screened The East at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, Michigan on January 31, 2013. Over 1,300 people were in attendance for the screening, and Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling showed for a Q&A session.[15] Leading up to its theatrical release in May 2013, The East was chosen as the closing night film of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival,[16] and went on to screen at the Phoenix Film Festival,[17] Seattle International Film Festival,[18] and the San Francisco International Film Festival.[19] The Washington Post reported that Q&A sessions after the film's screenings were popular. It said, "Filmgoers might not have agreed on their feelings about 'The East,' but they had one thing in common: They needed to talk about it." According to Batmanglij, the Sundance screening retained 98% of the audience for its Q&A session.[20]
The East had its New York City premiere on May 20, 2013.
Critical response
The Wall Street Journal reported that at the Sundance Film Festival, the film "opened to mostly strong reviews".[10] Variety's Justin Chang reviewed the film, "This clever, involving spy drama builds to a terrific level of intrigue before losing some steam in its second half." He noted that, "the appreciable growth in filmmaking confidence here should translate into a fine return on Fox Searchlight's investment".[14] John DeFore, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, described The East as "a social-conscience espionage film that has actually thought about its 'eco-terrorism' themes beyond figuring out how to mine them for suspense". He said, "Batmanglij balances emotional tension with practical danger nicely, a must in a story whose activist protagonists can make no distinction between the personal and the political."[27] Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News gave The East 5 stars and highlighted it as a Sundance standout. He said the film felt like a "sophisticated" Earth First! take of The Parallax View and other 1970s films with the theme of paranoia.[28]
Logan Hill, reviewing for indieWire, said, "Fast-paced and energetic, 'The East' hits a beat and hurries along to the next 'Jam.' As slickly paced as a big-studio espionage movie, it nearly succeeds as a pure adrenaline-rush thriller. In the end, the problem isn't that there's too much plot, but rather a certain dramatic illogic." Hill commended the cast and said of the direction, "Batmanglij has a particular talent for capturing that unmoored, twentysomething search for meaning, and the tight-knit allure of a group that offers a reason for living. But the film is so plot-driven, those don't have much room to breathe."[29]
Following the film's release in May, the film review aggregation website Metacritic surveyed 36 critics and assessed 26 reviews to be positive, nine to be mixed, and one to be negative. It gave an aggregate score of 68 out of 100, which it said indicated "generally favorable reviews".[30] Another review aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes, surveyed 141 critics and, categorizing the reviews as positive or negative, assessed 104 as positive and 37 as mixed or negative. It gave the film a score of 74% and summarized the critical consensus, "Tense, thoughtful, and deftly paced, The East is a political thriller that never loses sight of the human element."[31]
Home media
The East was released on DVD and
See also
- Eco-terrorism in fiction
- Hunted, a television series about an operative for a private intelligence company
- The Company You Keep, a film about a former Weatherman who lives in hiding from the FBI for over 30 years
References
- ^ a b Yamato, Jen (January 21, 2013). "'The East': How Marling & Batmanglij's Dumpster-Diving Freegan Summer Inspired The Eco-Anarchist Sundance Thriller". Movieline. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
- ^ a b c "The East". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
- ^ "Movie Spoiler for the film - The East". Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- ^ Staff (April 6, 2013). "Zal Batmanglij film depicts 'freegan' life". Asian American Press. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
- ^ Scott, A.O. (May 30, 2013). "Falling for the Anarchy She Was Sent to Fight". New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Schmidlin, Charlie (May 30, 2013). "Director Zaj Batmanglij Talks Making 'The East,' Harnessing The Power Of Young Filmmakers & Creating An Anarchist Collective". The Playlist. indieWire. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
- ^ The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ^ a b Puig, Claudia (January 22, 2013). "Eco-thriller 'The East' maps out complex morality issues". USA Today.
- ^ Chang, Kee (April 26, 2012). "Q&A with Zal Batmanglij". Anthem Magazine. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ^ a b Chai, Barbara (January 28, 2013). "'The East' Intersects Anarchy Collectives With Corporate CEOs". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Debruge, Peter (October 31, 2011). "Brit Marling: Self-taught talent brings experience to 'Earth'". Variety.
- ^ Sneider, Jeff (September 30, 2011). "Page eyes a trip 'East'". Variety.
- ^ Kaufman, Anthony (January 6, 2012). "10 Directors to Watch: Zal Batmanglij". Variety.
- ^ a b Chang, Justin (January 20, 2013). "Film Reviews: The East". Variety. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013.
- ^ McKee, Jenn (February 1, 2013). "Sundance USA brings 'The East' to the Midwest via the Michigan Theater". AnnArbor.com. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
- ^ Keegan, Rebecca (February 13, 2013). "SXSW 2013 adds 'The East,' Danny Boyle, Stevie Nicks doc". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "The East". phoenix.festivalgenius.com. The Phoenix Film Foundation. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
- ^ "The East". siff.net. Seattle International Film Festival. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
- ^ "The East". San Francisco Film Society. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
- ^ Merry, Stephanie (May 31, 2013). "Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling are back together in new thriller 'The East'". The Washington Post.
- ^ Fairley, Juliette (May 22, 2013). "'The East' Occupies Wall Street and Hotel Chantelle". Variety.
- ^ McClintock, Pamela (June 2, 2013). "Box Office Report: Will Smith's 'After Earth' Loses to 'Now You See Me' in Major Misstep". The Hollywood Reporter.
- Indiewire. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
- ^ Cunningham, Todd (June 2, 2013). "Independent Box Office: 'The East' and 'Kings of Summer' Start Fast". The Wrap. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
- ^ Subers, Ray (June 2, 2013). "Weekend Report: 'Fast' Falls, Magicians Make Will Smith Disappear". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
- ^ Cunningham, Todd (June 9, 2013). "Independent Box Office: Joss Whedon's 'Much Ado About Nothing' a Record-Breaker". The Wrap. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
- ^ DeFore, John (January 21, 2013). "The East: Sundance Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
- Daily News. New York.
- ^ Hill, Logan (January 22, 2013). "Sundance Review: Why Zal Batmanglij's 'The East' Is Fascinating and Illogical at the Same Time". indieWire. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ^ "The East Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
- ^ "The East". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
- ^ "The East Blu-ray Disc". Amazon. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ^ "The East (Blu-ray + UV Copy)". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
External links
- The East at IMDb
- The East at Rotten Tomatoes
- The East at Box Office Mojo