In their followup to Sound of My Voice, co-writer-director Zal Batmanglij and co-writer-star Brit Marling infiltrate another insular community, shifting their attention from a kind of sci-fi cult to activist anarchists who live off the grid while planning and executing terrorist acts targeting corporate executives they hold responsible for poisoning people and the environment. The similarities between the writing partners’ first two films are too obvious to ignore: In both, well-meaning individuals go undercover intending to expose the group and bring the leader to some form of justice but find themselves coming under the movement’s spell. But here, Marling’s role has shifted from the mysterious and alluring time-traveler at the center of a small religious movement to a corporate spy assigned to prevent a domestic terrorist cell from attacking her boss’ clients. The stakes have been raised—her success or failure could mean life or death, both for the subjects of her investigation and for herself.
As in all her work, Marling has created a smart, intriguing character. Sarah, aka Jane, is an ambitious one-time G-woman on her first assignment in the private sector: to join a group that calls itself the East and uncover their plans for their next “jam.” But she’s seduced by Benji (Alexander Skarsgard), the head of this hippie enclave, his lifestyle and his ideals—at first repulsed by, then espousing freeganism: foraging for and eating discarded food. But she’s likewise drawn to Sharon (Patricia Clarkson), the powerful executive whose firm Hiller Brood is in the business of protecting corporate clients against groups like the East. Is her indoctrination real or just part of the act?