6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
An undercover investigator's moral compass begins to change when she infiltrates an anarchist group responsible for targeting major corporations. When the CEOs of high profile companies find themselves the victims of a number of covert attacks, former FBI agent Sarah Moss (Brit Marling) is recruited by private intelligence firm Hiller Brood to gather information on 'The East', a shadowy eco-activist collective thought to be responsible. After finally managing to infiltrate the group, however, Sarah discovers her allegiances beginning to shift, as she increasingly begins to question the moral uncertainties of her life and finds herself falling under the spell of the group's charismatic leader Benji (Alexander Skarsgård).
Starring: Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgård, Elliot Page, Toby Kebbell, Shiloh FernandezPsychological thriller | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The apple that's bruised on one side. The slightly stale bag of chips. The carton of milk three days past its "expiration" date. All usually end up in the
garbage. A recent NPR article highlights the obvious but too often overlooked paradox: "Hundreds of millions of people go hungry, and yet we waste a
whopping 1.43 billion tons of food—one third of what we produce. Food waste is a problem in rich countries and poor countries alike, and it's happening
throughout the supply chain—from the farm to the truck to the warehouse to the store to your refrigerator." It's an alarming issue, but one that's
typically met with a shrug or, at most, a quickly forgotten sense of concern.
The opposite of this what-can-be-done complacency is the hardcore anti-consumerist "freegan" lifestyle, which involves foraging, dumpster diving, and
an emphasis on sharing and community. It's a form of pointed economical anarchy, out to prove there are other ways of living besides the power
structures currently in place. In 2009, with the recession in full-swing, aspiring filmmaker Zal Batmanglij and his friend, economics major-turned-
writer/actress Brit Marling—who made 2011's microbudget cult drama The Sound of My Voice together—set out to live as freegans for a
summer, backpacking with anarchist collectives, sleeping on rooftops, and "reclaiming" discarded food for sustenance. Their experiences inspired their
co-written screenplay for The East, a taut eco-thriller where the eco stands both for "ecology" and "economy." It's a smart, taut film,
as thought-provoking as it is suspenseful.
The East
Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling's previous film, The Sound of My Voice was shot on the cheap entirely with prosumer-grade Canon DSLRs, but they've since graduated to the much higher caliber Arri Alexa digital camera, working with up-and-coming cinematographer Roman Vasyanov. Together, they've crafted a film that looks far more expensive than it actually is. The movie's 1080p/AVC-encoded Blu-ray transfer is start-to-finish gorgeous, with no picture quality distractions besides—if you really wanna nitpick—some heightened source noise during darker scenes. The Alexa is capable of creating a very filmic, organic-looking image, and that's absolutely the case here; the picture is lush and dimensional, with no discernible compression issues or other concerns. (No DNR, edge enhancement, etc.) What impresses most is just how sharp the footage is; fine detail is visible in every frame, with near- palpable facial and clothing textures. The color grading is excellent too; highlights are creamy and roll-off nicely, and the slightly warm cast in most scenes gives off an appropriately autumnal vibe.
The film features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that's quiet but well-designed, filled with the immersive ambience of chirping birds, leaf-rustling wind, and other outdoorsy noises. British/Icelandic composer Halli Cauthery contributes a tense if understated score, and the main theme— an accelerating piano piece in a mixed time signature—comes from the director's younger brother, Vampire Weekend multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij. The music has strong presence and clarity, and that goes for the mix as a whole as well. Dialogue sits at the forefront and is always clean and understandable. No issues here. The disc also includes lossy Spanish and French dubs—the former Dolby Digital 5.1, the latter DTS—as well as optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles.
Parts of The East smack of other recent films—Children of Men, Martha Marcy May Marlene—but the movie's cumulative effect is original and bracing. It's one of those rare thrillers that's tense, dramatically substantive, and thought-provoking, and filmmaking parters Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling have pulled all this off on a relatively minuscule budget. The East underperformed at the box office earlier this year, but it definitely deserves a wider audience on home video. 20th Century Fox's Blu-ray release is all-around strong, with an ultra-sharp 1080p transfer, a deft audio track, and a worthwhile collection of behind-the-scenes featurettes. Highly recommended!
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