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The Grand Suggests: "The East"

You're either with Brit Marling or you're against her

Brit Marling plays an agent who fakes her way into a terrorist cell in The East

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Two wrongs don't make a right. Everyone's heard that old adage countless times from parents, teachers, clergy, Mister Rogers and other sage luminaries. It seems like perfectly sound, reasonable advice if one wants to lead a life on the right side of justice and in the service of good.  Then, a movie like The East comes along and calls into question what terms like "justice" and "good" truly mean.

In this dramatic thriller from Sound of My Voice writer-director Zal Batmangliz, cowriter and star Brit Marling plays former FBI agent Sarah Moss and a recent hire at Hiller Brood, a top private security and intelligence firm.  The firm specializes in protecting the business interests of major corporations, and business is good, save for a slight problem called The East.

The East, a cabal of anarchistic vigilantes, is wreaking havoc on Hiller Brood's high profile corporate clients, exposing their unethical and illegal business practices and getting revenge in questionably unethical and definitely illegal ways.  Since The East's activities naturally aren't conducive to the corporations' bottom lines, Sarah is charged with infiltrating the extremist cell and bringing them to justice.

Posing as a like-minded anarchist, Sarah soon finds herself entrenched among the enemy and embraced as one of their own, going so far as to accompany them on a mission, or "jam".  However, living among the members of The East and pretending to share their views carries a high price as Sarah finds herself more and more divided between her duty and her growing connection to The East and their cause. Complicating things further is the growing attraction between Sarah and The East's leader, Benji (Alexander Skarsgård).

To say that The East leaves audiences feeling conflicted would be putting it mildly.  We find our allegiances being pulled in disparate directions just as strongly as Sarah's at times.  One moment, we laud Sarah as a noble agent of "Truth, Justice and the American Way" and we vilify The East as a terrible cadre of counterculture fanatics bent on destroying our way of life. The next moment - specifically when we find out, much to our surprise, that major corporations don't always have the best interests of the public in mind - we cluck our tongues at Sarah for even considering getting in their way while we wholeheartedly embrace The East as underdog heroes fighting for the good of the common folk, and while their methods might not be pretty, at least they're effective.

It could be argued that The East doesn't actually do anything to the corrupt companies with which they wage war. They simply take action to ensure that arrogant and seemingly untouchable corporate entities fall victim to circumstances that wouldn't even exist had the companies not resorted to corruption in order to make a buck. In that way, The East's members aren't so much a radical fringe group as they are agents of fate acting to preserve the karmic balance by any means necessary.

Draw your own conclusions.

THE EAST, opens Friday, June 21, The Grand Cinema, 606 S. Fawcett Ave., Tacoma, $4.50-$9, 253.593.4474

Jared Lovrak is a volunteer at The Grand Cinema and an avid cinephile.

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