How talented is Brit Marling? The lady just has oodles of talent! Juggling multiple roles of screenwriter, producer and actress – plus doing justice to each role in most of her films must not be an easy job! After watching "The East" this weekend, I found myself craving more fare in the same vein. I also ended up watching "Sound of my Voice", which I had strangely missed, considering I vowed to keep a close eye out for anything Brit Marling was involved in, after the satisfaction of "Another Earth".
The East is a type of film I have grown to appreciate gradually, and what I would like to term "The Delicate Thriller". It's the type of film that takes its time to build up, is well structured and subtle, doesn't insult your intelligence by spelling out everything for you, and uses background score brilliantly. The Best part? – It never has in-your-face type of moments. It's the type of film that makes you obsessively seek out similar offerings. The last time I remember this happening was with "Margin Call" and I ended up watching "Inside Job" and a slew of other similar themed movies in a frenzy.
The East deals with the theme of the less glamorized arena of environmental terrorism. It focuses around a covert operative for a private intelligence firm, Jane, played superbly by Brit Marling. She attempts to infiltrate a radical group that gives corporations toying with the environment and human life quite literally, "a taste of their own medicine".
Jane's initiation to the group does not go too well, and there are some dissenting members who question her loyalty. She partakes in some of their stranger, cultish rituals, feeling like an outsider. As Jane become more involved with the group, she begins to see the driving force behind their actions, though she does not approve of the drastic measures they employ to make a point. One of the most tense scenes in the movie is the setting of one of the group's jams. It involves the group poisoning the heads and stakeholders of a major pharmaceutical company with their own lethal and untested drug. Jane has volunteered for this, to get the group to gain her trust, but the actual plan was never made clear to her. As she pieces things together bit by bit, we follow her in her sudden realization and attempts to make amends, but she is too late.
Jane is a protagonist one can root for, and this is one of the reasons the movie works so well. Her every action is engaging. Well trained, talented and driven, she finds herself clearly conflicted in the course of events. However, she is not easily swayed by anyone's thoughts and opinions but her own. This culminates in Jane taking her own stand. She doesn't side with her firm and their clients, nor does she crossover to what she sees as the misguided group. She adopts their philosophy, but not their methods – and sets about to make a difference in her own way. A very satisfying ending!
~cinecopia.wordpress.com
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