Another very engaging and sharp film from the mind of Brit Marling, who established herself as a major up-and-coming player in American independent film as the star and writer of both Another Earth and Sound of My Voice. The East, the story of a female agent who infiltrates a radical underground environmental group and finds herself drawn to its brooding and charismatic leader (True Blood heartthrob Alexander Skarsgard in his most interesting big-screen role to date), is a tad more conventional and far more refined in its visual style than the other two films, but it is far from square: as it electrifies and pleases as a straightforward suspense film, it also raises tantalizing moral questions and has a persuasive feel for the extreme counterculture lifestyle its principal characters embrace, including hopping freight trains and searching the trash for perfectly edible food deemed unworthy by grocery stores and high-end restaurants. My only complaint of note: after reaching a perfect conclusion (dynamic open endings are an area at which Marling excels), the film, in what may very well be an eleventh-hour studio mandate (or not), laces the end credits with bonus footage which ties the storyline into a neater bow than is required.

A-

Incredible. An intelligent thriller that delivers thrills in a rather low-key way. Brit Marling is great as usual. I've yet to be disappointed by a film of hers. One of 2013's best movies.

9/10 (A)

I was pretty turned off by this, it feels very amateurish and unrealistic to me and because of that it hardly builds up any tension. Found it weak in pretty much most departments, though Brit Marling is pretty good as the lead, her writing is flat out mediocre. There's actually a pretty nice cast in this, but they drown in the script. I did like the element of Marling's character balancing the undercover part with her relationship and in itself the purpose of such a group as The East is interesting, their intentions don't come across as compelling.

C