THE EAST is that rarity among espionage thrillers: a film that offers intricate plotting without being plodding; privileges characters over action sequences; and introduces a credible, memorable female protagonist. Brit Marling, an actress with arresting presence, plays an intelligence agent newly poached from the FBI by the head of a private security firm (Patricia Clarkson) whose mandate is to clean up messes created by high-profile companies before the public catches on.

Going undercover as the vagabond Sarah—short on possessions but long on rebellious attitude—the rookie spy infiltrates The East, a radical collective whose members live off the grid and deal payback to corporate bigwigs guilty of crimes ranging from toxic pharmaceuticals to industrial pollution. Alexander Skarsgard (currently also on screen in WHAT MAISIE KNEW) plays the cell’s leader Benji, who sees potential in his new “recruit.”

THE EAST is Marling’s second feature with her co-writer and director Zal Batmanglij; the two made a splash at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival with SOUND OF MY VOICE, an unsettling drama about a cult and its mysterious head. That same festival also saw the premiere of ANOTHER EARTH, an eerie sci-fi indie starring Marling and directed by Mike Cahill—who, like Batmanglij, was her classmate at Georgetown University.

For THE EAST, Batmanglij found inspiration in Alan J. Pakula’s THE PARALLAX VIEW and ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN, political films from the paranoid 1970s, a decade the young filmmaker likens to the present. His subject—a band of disenchanted outsiders who turn to terrorism—couldn’t be more timely. Fox Searchlight is seizing the moment, releasing the film as welcome counter-programming to the bloated summer tent poles currently hogging screens. The distributor recently sent the director and his star on a cross-country promo tour; in person the fresh-faced, bright-eyed duo is as engaging and thought-provoking as the movie itself.

ANDREA GRONVALL:  Your first feature together, SOUND OF MY VOICE, follows two investigative documentary filmmakers who infiltrate a cult and run up against its charismatic leader, who is very persuasive and manipulative. Your new film THE EAST is about an intrepid private investigator/corporate spy who penetrates an underground radical cell and meets her match it its charismatic leader, also very manipulative. The films represent two different genres and certainly vary in tone, but what attracts you to this particular narrative dynamic?

BRIT MARLING:  I think we have always been interested in outsiders and insiders, and how, as you get into any group, your idea of “normal” changes. Espionage is deep cover; you become a specialist in a world outside your own and then penetrate it. But how long can you remain it and not become assimilated, or not be tripped up by the secrecy, lies, and layers of duplicity?

ZAL BATMANGLIJ:  Also, we were writing these films at the same time, and naturally some spillover happened. And it was at a point when we were trying to get started in an industry that, in a sense, we were looking to infiltrate.

AG:  Brit, in the three features so far that you have starred in as well as co-written ad co-produced, your characters have a distinct sense of gravity. The outcomes of their quests may be uncertain, but these women are determined, and ultimately, quite competent. In no way does physical beauty subtract from their strength. So why can’t Hollywood get the message and make more movies about women with looks plus smarts plus skills? We have Meryl Streep, Susan Sarandon, Tilda Swinton, and an emerging talent like you in such roles, but what about all the other gifted actresses looking for challenging parts?

BM:  One of the great pleasures of acting is to try to transcend, to leave yourself for a time. When I first wanted to become an actor, I found it difficult to navigate that terrain. But even when you get further down the road [in the movie industry], you’re often still a second-class citizen. You are not driving the train. In most American films, female characters aren’t on journeys that are elliptical; what you often see are roles that were written originally for men, but which have been converted into roles for women. So, writing is a way out of that dilemma.

ZB:  What’s exciting about these questions is that they remind us we are living and working in a land filled with talented actresses, and how exciting many have proven themselves when given the opportunity to stretch—just recently, think of Robin Wright Penn in HOUSE OF CARDS. Most filmmakers and screenwriters are men, and so they often view our culture from how they fit into it. But as time goes on and this changes, other things will change. For instance, if you watch [Lena Dunham’s] GIRLS, the men are often the more interesting characters.

AG:  I was struck in THE EAST by the constant give-and-take between your lead character Sarah and the numerous supporting characters; as a writer and performer, you show a remarkable generosity toward the ensemble.

BM:  That may be because I think of the story first. In the edit room Zal has told me that I go for choices that are good for the story, even if they might mean a disservice to my performance.

AG:  Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the mood of the country, particularly as regards the war against terror—the Boston Marathon bombers; Guantánamo; drone strikes. How do you see your film as adding to the national conversation about terrorism? What do you hope viewers take away from THE EAST?

ZB:  Understandably, people are scared and frustrated.

BM:  And they’re having a hard time trying to figure out the meaning of things. One thing THE EAST shows is that you have to very careful about who you choose as your authority.

ZB:  We [as a people] give authority its power. Brit and I want audience to enjoy the film and take what they want from it, but also to face the questions in THE EAST about alienation, mobilization, and authority. And to open a dialogue about what is and isn’t crazy. Today just the very act of questioning can make you look crazy.

AG:  Zal, you were born in France. When did you and your family move to the U.S.A.? Do you speak French? Have you been influenced by French culture and French films, and would you like to work abroad?

ZB:  My family moved here when I was seven years old; I’m an American citizen, and I do speak French. I love French film, and, yes, I would very much also like to work in France. I f ind it’s a place that really values and supports filmmakers. You can make kinds of movies in France that you can’t make here. That said, you can make other kinds of movies here that you can’t make in France, where they’re not set up to produce the sort of big-budget epics that Christopher Nolan and James Cameron make. I love both kinds, and above all, love having the freedom to make morally and emotionally complex films.

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