The East

Film-makers Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling dazzled the Sundance film festival in 2011 with their low-budget thriller Sound of My Voice, setting high expectations for this, their second film. It turns out to be a more conventional affair, a tightly wound espionage eco-thriller aimed squarely at the multiplex - although it's just as well made. "The East" is a mysterious eco-collective that specialises in causing "jams", spectacular actions against international conglomerates and other enemies of the environment. Sarah (Marling) is a private investigator hired to infiltrate the group, but her loyalties shift dangerously in their direction and she finds herself particularly drawn to Benji (Alexander Skarsgård), for more than his radical politics. The love story feels a bit forced, but otherwise it's an intelligent examination of the dangers of both fanaticism and espionage and, appropriately enough for a film produced by Ridley Scott, it's tightly edited and looks fantastic.