| The Sweet East | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Sean Price Williams |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Sean Price Williams |
| Edited by | Stephen Gurewitz |
| Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Utopia |
| Release dates |
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| Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $544,175 |
The Sweet East is a 2023 American satirical surrealist road film directed by Sean Price Williams in his directorial debut from a screenplay by Nick Pinkerton. It stars Talia Ryder, Earl Cave, Simon Rex, Ayo Edebiri, Jeremy O. Harris, Jacob Elordi and Rish Shah.
The Sweet East had its world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors' Fortnight section on May 18, 2023. The film was released on December 1, 2023, by Utopia.
The film follows a teenager from South Caroline who experiences the wider world on a picaresque adventure through the East Coast of the United States.
Plot
High school student Lillian is on a class trip to Washington, D.C., when a local restaurant is attacked by an armed man who believes the establishment houses a secret pedophilia ring. She is led to safety by anarchist political activist Caleb, who brings her to a home where he lives with other dissidents.
Caleb and his friends bring Lillian along to a protest, only to discover that they travelled to the wrong location. While there, she meets Lawrence, a far-right university professor and nazi sympathizer, who offers to let her stay with him at his home.
Lillian sends word to a friend that she is safe but does not plan to return home. She sees news reports that there is a police manhunt for her, with fears that she has been kidnapped.
While at Lawrence’s house, Lillian witnesses him meeting with a skinhead, who gives him a large duffel bag. She convinces Lawrence to take her with him on a trip to New York City, bringing the bag with them. Lillian convinces him to rent a Manhattan hotel room and undresses in front of him.
The following day, Lillian sends Lawrence to buy her nail polish. While he is gone, she searches the bag and finds it full of cash; she takes the bag and leaves. As Lillian is fleeing from the hotel, she is stopped on the street by director Molly and producer Matthew, who want to cast her in a film they are making. She gets the part and begins shooting, striking up a flirtation with her co-star Ian, a famous actor.
Lillian is photographed by paparazzi walking with Ian, with the pictures published on the cover of a tabloid magazine. During the shoot one night, the skinhead arrives at the set searching for her and the money; he and other skinheads open fire and kill many members of the cast and crew, including Ian.
Lillian is rescued by crew member Mo, who hides her in a secluded barn on a property his brother Ahmad runs as an Islamic community. While she initially stays there for fear that the skinheads are still searching for her, she finds a newspaper that they have been captured by police, along with an assault rifle. Lillian plans to leave, but is seen by Ahmad, Mo, and others. She pretends to be a neighbor looking for a lost dog that escaped. She collapses from exhaustion while walking away.
She awakens at a monastery, where she is told by a priest that she was rescued from freezing to death and that the police have been notified of her whereabouts. Upon returning home, Lillian finds that her classmates are now living very different lives than when she last saw them. As her family is distracted by TV news reports about a terrorist attack at a football stadium that has left tens of thousands dead, she leaves the house and smiles into the camera.
Cast
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Clockwise: actors Talia Ryder, Jacob Elordi, Ayo Edebiri and Simon Rex
- Talia Ryder as Lillian
- Earl Cave as Caleb
- Simon Rex as Lawrence
- Ayo Edebiri as Molly
- Jeremy O. Harris as Matthew
- Jacob Elordi as Ian
- Rish Shah as Mohammed
- Gibby Haynes as Abbot
- Jack Irv as Troy
- Mazin Akar as Ahmad
- Andy Milonakis as Jeff
- Nicole Byron as Crafty Lady
- Jordan Nessinger as Amir
- Jonathan Daniel Brown as Mr. Franks
- Ella Rubin as Annabel
- MiMi Ryder as Cousin Claire
- Peter Vack as George Washington Boy
- Betsey Brown as Betsy Ross Girl
- Jamie Granato as Tour Guide
Production
Sean Price Williams thought no one would give him money to make his directorial debut, until Alex Ross Perry used his agency connections to secure the cast in order to gain financing.
After reading the screenplay, the film's executive producer, Jimmy Kaltreider, financed the film via a small fund from Peter Thiel.
The movie was shot on 16mm film by Sean Williams, who was the film's cinematographer in addition to director.
Release
The Sweet East had its world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors' Fortnight section on May 18, 2023. It was also screened at the New York Film Festival on October 10, 2023. Utopia acquired North American distribution rights to the film in July 2023. It was released theatrically in the United States on December 1, 2023. The film was released on Hulu on May 17, 2024.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 79% of 33 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.0/10. The website's consensus reads: "A consistently amusing satire of modern American life, The Sweet East is so engaging from moment to moment that it's easy to forgive its somewhat hazy thesis." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Carlos Losilla of Caimán Cuadernos de Cine wrote, "The Sweet East mixes Lewis Carroll with the Rivette of Céline and Julie vont en bateau, to jump to the other side of the mirror and contemplate, despite everything, what remains of the American dream."
References
- "The Sweet East". Directors' Fortnight. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- "The Sweet East". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- "The Sweet East". The Numbers. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- Goldstein, Gregg (May 18, 2023). "'The Sweet East' Director Sean Price Williams on Politics, Unions and the Film Establishment". Variety. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- Hane, Jai Gil, Charlie (2024-08-03). "The Sweet East's Online Odyssey: In Conversation with Palme d'Or-Winning Producer Alex Coco". Bright Lights Film Journal. Retrieved 2024-12-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Burns, Sean (2024-02-15). "'The Sweet East' is a road trip comedy through a lost America". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2024-12-17.
- Keslassy, Elsa (April 18, 2023). "Cannes' Directors Fortnight Unveils 2023 Lineup, Including Films by Hong Sang-soo, Michel Gondr". Variety. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- "The Sweet East". New York Film Festival. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
- Hayes, Dade (August 17, 2023). "Saoirse Ronan-Paul Mescal Sci-Fi Drama 'Foe' And Nathan Fielder-Benny Safdie Series 'The Curse' Set World Premieres At New York Film Festival". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
- Lang, Brent (July 27, 2023). "Utopia Buys 'The Sweet East,' Road Movie With Talia Ryder, Simon Rex, Ayo Edebiri and Jacob Elordi (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
- "Sean Price Williams, Talia Ryder, Simon Rex & More on The Sweet East, Problematic Characters, and Trust". New York Film Festival. October 12, 2023. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
- DeSalvo, Robert (May 2, 2024). "11 movies to check out on Hulu this May". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
- "The Sweet East". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
- "The Sweet East". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
- "The Sweet East (Sean Price Williams). SEMINCI 2023". Caiman Ediciones (in Spanish). 2023-10-22. Retrieved 2023-10-22.