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The East

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United Kingdom, United States · 2013
Rated PG-13 · 1h 56m
Director Zal Batmanglij
Starring Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgård, Elliot Page, Toby Kebbell
Genre Drama, Thriller

Someone is attacking big corporate CEOs and forcing them to consume harmful products they manufacture. An elite private intelligence firm is called into action and contracts ex-FBI agent Sarah Moss to infiltrate a mysterious anarchist collective, The East, suspected to be responsible.

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What are critics saying?

75

Slant Magazine by

It showcases the evolving interests and talents of Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling, but expands them and channels them into a more traditional thriller framework.

75

IndieWire by Eric Kohn

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.

80

The Hollywood Reporter by John DeFore

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.

80

Film.com by Jordan Hoffman

This is a movie that proposes a genuine, intelligent solution, both for the main character and for us. It comes at you kinda quickly (and economically, in about three wordless shots), but it hit me like a bag of dumpster-dived apples to the gut.

80

Time Out by Joshua Rothkopf

Eventually it’s go time, and if The East loses a little steam on the grounds of action mechanics (a skill these plots always require), it’s never dumb on the subject of covert allegiances.

70

Variety by Justin Chang

This clever, involving spy drama builds to a terrific level of intrigue before losing some steam in its second half.

50

Observer by Rex Reed

A good cast and the speed-dial theme of eco-terrorism should really add up to a film of more substantial mind over matter than the dull, talky and ultimately pointless espionage thriller The East.

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