The East

It is my favourite time of the year, the Sydney Film Festival. This year I am doing something a bit more ambitious and I'm going to see 20 films at the festival. I start the festival with this film about eco-terrorists.
At the core of this film is a very good concept. A woman from a security company who goes undercover in an eco-terrorist group to help protect corporate clients. Sadly director Zal Batmanglij and his writers have used this clever concept to make a very predictable and clichéd film. I will no doubt get criticized for the following comment, but I do not think that it was a good choice to make the lead character a woman. Either that or toughen up her character. Sarah is too soft a character for this story. You know right from the start that she is going to fall in love with one of the guys in the group that she is trying to infiltrate. I know that is probably a terribly sexist comment to make but I think the film would have been better and more interesting if it was a man or a tougher woman as the central character. Then don't get me started on the characters that make up The East, the eco-terrorist group. Are all groups like that? Made up of the same type of characters you see in all these types of films? Plus they behave in the same way that these activist groups behave. It did not feel authentic but like a Hollywood construct. 
This is an excellent cast of actors but as mentioned above they are lumbered with really clichéd and badly constructed characters. As an actress Brit Marling suits the softness of her character but her character needed to be stronger to suit the story. Ellen Page plays the stereotypical tough character of the group. I think she would have been a better choice to play Sarah. It would have made the film more interesting if Ellen and Brit swapped roles. Alexander Skarsgard does well with his role as the brooding, sexy leader of the activists. Sadly he does not bring anything special to the role. The one highlight was Patricia Clarkson. She is playing a typical ruthless boss but manages to make it fun with some subtle moves. I also liked seeing Julia Ormond, an actress I miss seeing in films.
Probably not the best way to start the festival. Another case of a great concept told in a bad way.