Returning to Sundance after their cult drama Sound of My Voice, director Zal Batmanglij and co-writer/star Brit Marling brought their eco-thriller The East. With an expanded scope (especially apparent, as they teamed with Ridley Scott‘s company Scott Free), the film deals with a number of the same themes and style/tone, and while it becomes a bit too preposterous as it goes along, it’s still a worthwhile sophomore effort from this budding director. We’ve now got the first theatrical poster for the film, which brings together our main trio of Marling, Alexander Skarsgård and Ellen Page.
While the latter two are dedicated to the mission of stopping bad practices in the corporate world, Marling’s character infiltrates their group. As we said in our Sundance review, the film “flows with a sense of rapid fire urgency that keeps one on the edge of their seat. And yet, while Sarah’s [Marling’s character] ongoing struggle between her profession and her beliefs is a convincing one to watch unfold, this neo-noir hybrid misses the boat on evoking emotion.” Check out the poster below (via Black Book Mag) for the film also starring Toby Kebbell, Shiloh Fernandez, Julia Ormond and Patricia Clarkson, and see the trailer here if you missed it.
Synopsis:
In THE EAST, Sarah Moss (Marling) is a brilliant operative for an elite private intelligence firm whose top objective is to ruthlessly protect the interests of their A-list corporate clientele. She is assigned to go undercover to infiltrate an anarchist collective known for executing covert attacks upon major corporations. Living amongst them in an effort to get closer to their members, Sarah finds herself unexpectedly torn between two worlds as she starts to fall in love with the group’s charismatic leader, finding her life and her priorities irrevocably changed.
The East opens on May 31st.