New Look At Ellen Page, Brit Marling & Alexander Skarsgård In Zal Batmanglij's 'The East'

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by Kevin Jagernauth
January 7, 2013 10:37 AM
7 Comments

You would think that with the Oscar nominations coming on Thursday we might get a bit of a breather, but alas, just seven days later the Sundance Film Festival will kick off, introducing a whole batch of new movies that will hope to be part of the discussion in 2013. And one of the films we're looking forward to is the sophomore effort from "Sound Of My Voice" director Zal Batmanglij.

"The East" marks his second collaboration with Brit Marling, and it's another infiltration movie of sorts, albeit this time with a starrier cast. USA Today has a new look at Ellen Page and Alexander Skarsgård who feature in the film, alongside Toby Kebbell, Shiloh Fernandez and Patricia Clarkson. Marling takes the lead once again, but this time plays the mole of sorts, an agent hired by an intelligence company to worm her way into an activist group. Here's the official synopsis:

Someone is attacking big corporate CEOs and forcing them to consume harmful products they manufacture. An elite private intelligence firm is called into action and contracts ex-FBI agent Sarah Moss to infiltrate a mysterious anarchist collective, The East, suspected to be responsible. Skilled, focused, and bent on success, Sarah goes undercover and dedicates herself to taking down the organization. She soon finds, however, that the closer she gets to the action, the more she sympathizes with the group’s charismatic leaders.

Essentially, the film probes the boundaries of one's dedication to a cause, no matter how noble the goal or objectives, when murder becomes part of the equation. "The ethics of all of it become very muddled," Page told the paper. As Skarsgård explained, "The question is, morally, where do you draw the line? How far are you willing to go for this cause?"

It looks like another fascinating exploration of a world that exists on the fringes, with its own rules and codes. We're anxious to check it out. No release date yet, but Fox Searchlight already has the rights.

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More: The East, Zal Batmanglij, Ellen Page, Alexander Skarsgård

7 Comments

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Jamie | January 8, 2013 7:46 AMReply

The plot of the film does sound interesting though the idea of the protagoneist becoming sympathetic to the cause she is investigating is quite cliched. However maybe there will be a new take on this story motif.
jingmei | January 8, 2013 1:20 AMReply

Always strongly enough to look forward to this film. Though confused about the plot point, as of Sound Of My Voice. Brit Marling would to be some group's leader role in this director's films sounds like. Hope this film is gonna make clear about its point. Awesome to see Ellen Page in this.
Tom | January 7, 2013 5:57 PMReply

Looking forward to this, but the plot sounds oddly similar to Sound of My Voice.
constance | January 7, 2013 11:12 AMReply

Really looking forward to this one.
Joao | January 7, 2013 11:12 AMReply

Third collaboration, actually... They also did a short film together called 'The Recordist'.
Alex | January 7, 2013 9:52 PM

Shut up.
james | January 7, 2013 11:05 AMReply

Is Alexander SkarsgÃ¥rd making the William Baldwin biopic after this?!