The East

I REQUIRE MY BRIT MARLING MOVIES TO HAVE AMBIGUOUS SCI-FI ENDINGS. THROWING UP IN A TRUCKSTOP BATHROOM IS LITERALLY THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF AN AMBIGUOUS SCI-FI ENDING.

Pretty much agree with everything they do in this movie. As for the movie itself, it has a dip towards the end character wise but picks back up, then dips again over the credits in to slight wish fulfillment. Apart from that it's good stuff.

i just wish it was less cheesier. could have been a lot better flick. it just can not handle the seriousness of its subject, which makes the movie look weak and feel like junky.

I liked this quite a bit. It didn't hurt that two of my favorite young actresses were in this, Brit Marling and Ellen Page. Compared to the trailer this movie was completely different. I won't spoil anything but there is an aspect to the plot I didn't even know they were going to do. Marling was excellent, Page's character was a little too much for me and she was unlikable. Skarsgard struck a much better balance than Page. The movie has it's ups and downs, I wouldn't say I enjoyed its ending.

It manages to not pick a side, yet open your eyes for some inconvenient truths. There's a universal balance in things, and for some people to be privileged, others can't be, if not worse. The depiction of the treehugging anarchists is a bit too clichéd for my taste, and the sequence of events surprises at no point, but the message is a noble one. The ending seems rushed and unstable, but up until that point i was invested.

Utterly collapsed in the final act.

Gripping and nuanced eco-terrorism thriller that is strong on character development as well as keeping up the tension. While I enjoyed the struggles with ethics that Marling's character undergoes, the film itself nails its colours to the mast a little too cleanly, I could have done with a little more ambiguity. Still, an intelligent and exciting watch, with a look that belies its relatively small budget.

Even with several bumps along the road, it packs a punch owing to solemn moments and Brit Marling.

It is entertaining to say the least. Ultimately, I feel as though this film lacked a healthy amount of self-awareness. It tries to present you with three moralistic view points on corrupt capitalism, but ultimately presents a one-sided view on the issue. I think this film had an interesting concept, but it was far too simplistic and predictable for its own good. That being said, it had a nice amount of suspense at points and was filmed well; the acting was decent as well. Meh, I didn't hate it.

It wants to be morally ambiguous and/or ethically challenging, but isn't able to be interesting enough to rise to that challenge. The main character has some extremely frustrating actions that don't seem to make much sense on a basic level.

It falls flat on every aspect, like a dated soda, you know it would be normally good, but it's just flat. and there is something wrong with Page and her overly serious expression, it's like she never seems real in any role she plays, everytime i see her i am reminded the fact that this is just a movie.

Quite a drag. Couldn't finish. I expect fun from movies, not philosophy.

A couple of bad scenes and plot contrivances mar an otherwise decent thriller.

Quite compelling. The first act had all the intrigue of this badass spy-game-style undercover agent infiltrating the gang; the second act did a great job with group dynamics and plot development; the third act let us down a little with its theme of Stockholm syndrome coming across as weakness, and a clumsy ending. All in all a pretty unique film with great input from the multi-talented Brit Marling. I feel like "Night Moves" did a slicker take on eco-terrorism, but this is a more creative film.

Pretty good, but it does get a little predictable towards the end. I'm also not sold on the ending, it seemed a little half baked. It flowed pretty well and the performances were convincing enough to keep you engaged.

Had me intrigued up until that sloppy ending, even though I couldn't quite get myself to feel for the main character. Still, it was a thought-provoking piece that often made me feel uncomfortable in a good way. Some scenes have the potential to be real eye-openers for the audience.

Entertainment: 3.5/4. Spirituality: 1.5/3. Sustainability: 1.5/3.

highlight of the movie was the most consensual game of spin the bottle I've ever seen but that's pretty much it

that show at the dinner..

That's the third strike in a row for Brit Marling as actress and co-writer. After Sound of my Voice and Another Earth, Brit departs from science fiction but continues to provoke us and ask tough questions with this suspenseful espionage thriller. I'm actually a bit surprised by the low attention it got, given the comparatively fast pace and familiar form this film adopts.

ellen page as ellen page.

Had to turn it off because it was just terrible.

Came for anarchists; got cult-y lifestylers. A nicely done little thriller, just too cartoon-y for me.

Looked good from the outset but soon got too predictable too fast.

Loved this movie! Hot girls and fast paced story about a group of young terrorist hippies fighting for a 'just' cause. Really could appreciate Brit Marling the most. The scenes where they carried out their terrorist attacks gave the biggest thrill.

One cannot expect movies to solve the world's problems. Nevertheless, this film risks pandering to a resentment-based politics symbolised by the fact that the enemy is either one's own father, or the father of a rich chum from back in one's own schooldays. More general or complex political problems are thereby elided. On the other hand, raising the possibility of raising questions is presumably better than avoiding them altogether, and in that sense the Snowdenesque conclusion may be defensible.

Brit Marling is really pulling more than her alloted share lately - this is her third major writing/starring credit in just over two years. "The East" isn't quite up there with "Another Earth" and "Sound of My Voice", thanks to some overused clichés and an ending that just runs out of juice, but it has a lot of heart balanced with just enough cynicism to make the story work.

It has some intrigue toward corporate politics and morality issue,though it was hard to follow some of undermine plot. even though,the resolution was cleverly and subtly executed. It lacks the thrill and suspense of the early promising build up.By going subtle and less gripping near the end,it kept the story from reaching its more satisfying and climatic conclusion. though "The East" was a solid thriller with some brilliant assemble cast.

An eco-terrorist thriller that asks many fascinating questions about the morals of committing crimes to stop corrupt corporations but doesn't make much of an effort to offer resolution. The plot has a few too many conveniences, but at least it is an entertaining ride while stirring some intriguing ideas.

I've seen dozens of reviewers saying this "falls apart" in the third act, but I humbly disagree. What it does in the third act is give up. It spends so much of its running time building intrigue and tension, only to abandon at the last minute. A compelling ride that ultimately goes nowhere. Turn the movie off right after the "dental floss" scene and you'll get a better film, and save yourself a pretty awful post-credits montage

great acting, great script, great soundtrack...

Lacking the sleeper-hit beauty of Another Earth, and weighed down by a couple of thick-as-concrete thriller-clichés, this is still packing more originality than most american films. And by now you really should be fully in love with Marling.

Nicely shot, and I thought the music was particularly strong. The pacing seemed a bit off though, it felt like the whole plot happened over the course of a week which is clearly not intended. Both the hippies and the corporations were depicted in such a cliched and over-the-top way that it gave the whole movie an artificial feel. If you are into the kind of themes this deals with you'll probably like this movie more. For me, it was just slightly above average.

Amazing, very well made and well paced with an interesting story, interesting characters, excellent acting and a great soundtrack. Thought-provoking, powerful and with a great script. Beautiful ending, I highly recommend this to anyone who can appreciate films like this.

Seems like it's building to something but instead just fizzles out before suddenly ending. Poorly constructed script, some a bit too on-the-nose moments, but Skarsgaard is strong and it is at times interesting.

I had high hopes for this, and I want to say that I was let down, but I'm not sure about it. I liked the performance, the plot definitely is interesting, but I feel Sarah's struggle could have been better shown. At times it felt like they were rushing, so I couldn't help but think some unacceptable holes came to be. Getting past that, "The East" was enjoyable. And I mean good enjoyable. My faith in Brit's writing still stands, and "Another Earth" is still my favorite.

would like to see more of brit marling as a brunette.

Brit Marling writes yet another compelling screenplay, what's new?

At every chance to go in an interesting direction, chooses not to for the sake of keeping a rigid political frame

Doesn't really know how to end, but aside from that, it's easily Marling's best starring effort to date. Hushed, mysterious, urgent, and hypnotically watchable. Page's angry, searing supporting turn really leaps off the screen at you, and Marling has never been this appealing--she's a unique, consistently interesting presence in indie film, and I'm excited about what she's gonna do next.

The thing is, it's hard to examine this issue in a movie, especially a fiction one, because it's not simple. The East does a great job of trying though. I understand anarchism so most movies frustrate me with how they portray anarchists. They do a decent job here. It clearly targets corporate America so in that way yes it is slanted, but that's okay, especially if you agree. Ultimately it's a good political thriller that's as human as it can be, it's tense and exciting, and makes people think.

A thoughtful eco-terrorism thriller that wields a well-judged light hand: there's room for moral ambiguity here, and screenwriters, cast and director take full advantage. Provocative, engaging cinema.

A well made but overly simplistic condemnation of corporate America. The eco-terrorist anarchists are presented as righteous while imperfect, yet only corrupt examples of corporate America are there to represent the seemingly, inevitably flawed state of capitalism. If some individuals are evil, does that make all individuals bad. The filmmakers here could point out that they didn't actually put all the corporate eggs in one basket, but the implication by omission is there. Interesting

Silly but earnest and fun with great performances.