“We don’t care how rich you are. We want all those who are guilty to experience the terror of their crimes, Because it shouldn’t be so easy to get away with murder. Lie to us… we’ll lie to you. Spy on us… we’ll spy on you. Poison our habitat… we’ll poison yours. We are The East and this is just the beginning. We will counterattack three corporations in the next six months for their worldwide terrorism.”

The East follows Jane (Brit Marling), an agent for Hiller Brood, the top private intelligence firm in investigating anti-corporate terrorism. She goes undercover as Sarah to locate and infiltrate the eco-terrorist group known as The East. When Sarah joins this cult-like anarchist collective, she is initially horrified by their actions, but soon finds herself questioning her own morals and values when she sees the atrocities they are uncovering. She also discovers that her boss seems to be more concerned about helping those who are paying the firm rather than doing what is morally right.

What’s great about The East is that it has you constantly questioning your own thoughts on what is right and what is wrong. While you probably don’t agree with the tactics used by The East, you certainly can’t argue with the results they are getting. No one is ever completely in the right, which allows the film to be used as a catalyst for discussion.

The film kept me interested, and I was always wondering what what going to happen next. What if this group figured out the truth about Sarah, and what would they do to her?! What lengths would The East go to to prove their points, and would Sarah break cover to step in to save “innocent” lives?! My only complaint about the film is that at times it dragged a bit, and overall felt a bit too long. I think they could have cut out fifteen to twenty minutes of various commune-like activities at the The East headquarters to give a faster-paced film.

That said, the cast is great—Brit Marling is once again captivating on screen. The only other film I had previously seen her in was Sound of My Voice. In that she played the leader of a cult someone is trying to infiltrate and expose. I found it interesting that in this film she is playing the reverse role. Alexander Skarsgård is also great as the charismatic leader of The East, and Patricia Clarkson was wonderful as Jane’s ruthless boss who’s just as bad as some of the corporate leaders The East tries to take down. The rest of film’s cast includes Jason Ritter as Jane’s boyfriend; Ellen Page, Aldis Hodge, Toby Kebbell and Shiloh Fernandez as other members of The East; and Julia Ormond as one of the high-powered executives The East has targeted.

The film looks and sounds great on this Blu-ray, but the bonus features were a bit disappointing. The deleted scenes are really short and don’t add anything to the film. The alternate ending is almost entirely a blank screen set to music and doesn’t add anything more than what was already heard in the existing ending. The rest of the bonus features are interviews with the cast and creators. It would have been great to see some more filming footage or the unedited newscasts/PR videos shown in the film. The Blu-ray also comes with an Ultraviolet Digital Copy of the film.

All told, I found The East to be an entertaining, thought-provoking film with great performances. It’s definitely worth checking out.

What’s Included:

Film (1:56:08):

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.35:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish DD 5.1, French DTS 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital Copy: (Redemption Deadline 9/17/2015)

• UltraViolet DigitalHD Copy redeemable via Vudu or Flixster

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes
  Select from “Denoxin Survivors”, “Izzy’s Room”, “Escape” and “Alternate Ending”. Most of these are really short. I didn’t understand the point of the alternate ending as it is almost entirely a black screen set to music.
• Theatrical Behind the Scenes
  • The East Exposed: The Story (3:08)
    Brit Marling (“Sarah”/co-writer/co-producer), Zal Batmanglij (director/co-writer), Patricia Clarkson (“Sharon”), Alexander Skarsgård (“Benji”), Jocelyn Hayes-Simpson (producer), Ellen Page (“Izzy”), and Michael Costigan (prodcuer) discuss the plot of the film.
  • Off the Grid: Creating The East (3:10)
    Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij talk about how their backpacking and living on the road together after college informed a lot of the film.
  • Casting The East (3:16)
    Producers Jocelyn Hayes-Simpson and Michael Costigan and talk about how everyone was eager to be in the movie. Alexander Skarsgård (“Benji”), Ellen Page (“Izzy”), Julia Ormond (“Paige Williams”) and Patricia Clarkson (“Sharon”) talk about what drew them to the film. And creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij talk about the amazing cast.
  • Two Brothers: Collaboration (2:33)
    Brothers Rostam and Zal Batmanglij talk about collaborating with one another throughout their lives. Rostam talks about composing the haunting and unique musical score of the film.
  • Cause and Effect: The Movement of The East (3:08)
    Zal Batmanglij, Alexander Skarsgård, Ellen Page, Julia Ormond and Brit Marling talk about the motivations behind the actions of The East.
  • Examining the Moral Gray (4:28)
    Recorded in in May 2013, Malcolm Gladwell talks with Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij about the morally gray tone of the film.
• Theatrical Trailer (1:07)
• Sneak Peek (17:06)
  Play All or select from trailers for Runner, Runner, Trance, The Way, Way Back, Stoker, Hitchcock, Homeland Season 2, The Americans, Vikings and Carrie.

Final Thoughts:

The East is an entertaining, thought-provoking story with some great performances. The Blu-ray looks and sounds great, but the bonus features are not very extensive. That said, it’s still very much worth checking out.