THE EAST is an openly political film - in which a group of lefty liberals go after the evils of big business and corporations - but one which manages to make a few decent points along the way, namely the morals behind the use of evil to combat evil. It's not a very satisfying film, and it remains resolutely po-faced throughout, but it's worth a watch for anybody with a real-world interest in this stuff.Newcomer Brit Marling plays an undercover agent who joins a group of eco-terrorists in order to bring them down, but who finds herself being drawn into their schemes and lives. I found the actress to be entirely unsympathetic in the part, but others in support are better; a cast-against-type Alexander Skarsgard, for instance, alongside Toby Kebbell and Shiloh Fernandez. A shame we have the continually irritating Ellen Page along for the ride too, but there you go.Occasionally THE EAST becomes a pretty effective and tense thriller, and these moments occur when the eco-warriors actually get up and pull off some pretty impressive stunts. However, to counter such highs there's a whole lot of low-level emoting and sitting around chatting, and unfortunately the idealistic young characters just aren't very interesting to watch as a whole.

It's hard to assign a rating to film that I bailed on after about 40 minutes. Perhaps there is the chance that it got better as it progressed, but I didn't have the patience to slog through any more tedium for whatever reward was there. If the writer or director had made any effort to generate some sympathy for or identification with the main character the film might have been more palatable. However, we're given nothing. Who is this person? What is her personal story? Why is she joining this firm? What is her motivation? None of these questions are answered. As a consequence, it's hard to develop any feeling at all for her. She's a blank canvas. I found myself utterly indifferent to her fate, not really caring at all if she succeeded in whatever her mission was or if she was discovered and offed in the first 30 minutes.Beyond that, the portrayal of the "anarchist" environmental group was such a broad caricature and the dialogue so strained and clichéd that one wondered if the film was meant to praise the environmental movement or make it seem ridiculous. In the end, none of the characters seemed believable or sympathetic; they were almost allegorical figures. If I don't give a damn about the characters, ultimately I don't give a damn about the film.

Patricia Clarkson has a role so small in this film, but like a tiny piece of Uranium has a massive impact.Here she is the head of the main character's company, a firm that supplies intelligence for corporations, infiltrating underground groups that act out against companies.In the course of this film, there is a sequence in which our heroine is present when a "monkey wrench" (called a jam) of sorts is about to happen and a large number of people are about to be badly treated. She then calls Clarkson with concerns about the event about to take place mere minutes (like nearly seconds), Clarkson has a response that is the essence of corporate evil.In this one, brief line, Clarkson nails Corporate Swine Person as well as if not better than Gary Cole in Office Space or Paul Reiser in Aliens.Overall the film is well made, well directed and has Ellen Page in it. (Anything with Ellen Page is worth watching at least once IMHO.) A good gripping thriller, well made and with an edge. 9/10

I think I heard or read about The East before I even know who indie darling Brit Marling was. The ads for the film weren't that appealing to me. It seemed like a thriller with a few names that interested me (Ellen Page & Alexander Skarsgård). It wasn't until I read some reviews of the film and my friends were talking about it that it piqued my interest. By then I knew who Brit Marling was. I had not seen anything she was in. From word of mouth I needed to see her films. She was a writer/actress so the films were tailored to her. I had The East sitting in my DVR for over a month. I finally decided to sit down and make my first venture into Brit Marling land. Marling stars a corporate spy who is trying to make her way into a prominent Eco-terrorist group. She is there for information and intel to help her security company help their big name clients. Once in the group her world view is change. Being the lead and the writer on the film, she can play to her strengths. But thankfully she has many of them. She stands out as an actress with some serious chops. The evolution her character goes through is fascinating. At many times in the film I wasn't sure who to root for. I didn't know what was coming next. That, for me, is the sign of good writing and even better acting. Ellen Page is great as the group's second in command. I just wish she had more screen time. But the time she does she kills it in spades. Her character is a lot more complexed than first shown. That complexity is flesh out in some powerful scenes. Alexander Skarsgård has been a favorite of mine since True Blood. I think this is best performance yet. He gets to show some range and depth as the leader of the group. Even his character's history is explained. The one thing that stands out in this film is that the filmmakers let you get to know these characters. At first you may be hesitant to what they're doing. The film doesn't push you in one way or another. There are really no good guys and bad guys. Everyone does things out of necessities and to preserve what they think is their way of life. With such a strong hot button subject matter it's a great turn the filmmakers took. It pays off because I felt for everyone at some point in the film. The only issues I had was there was character in the group who was deaf who had some great early scenes. I would have liked to see more of her but she wasn't integral to the story. The East didn't surprise me as much as I'm just impressed that a dramatic thriller can be made now a days without pushing the audience to one side or another. The film is excellently directed. During my viewing I thought it felt like a Scott brothers film. And come to find out during the credits Ridley & Tony Scott were producers on it. I would say that my first venture into Brit Marling land was a successful one. 6.8 out of 10