A FEVER DREAM OF CONTEMPORARY AMERICA

Sean Price Williams’ directorial debut The Sweet East follows moody teen Lillian (Talia Ryder) as she slips away from a school trip into an Alice in Wonderland-esque journey through the eastern seaboard.  In a fever dream full of comedic performances and satirical dialogue, The Sweet East challenges the traditional notions of the American Dream and creates something entirely original – and wild.

Williams previous successes as cinematographer, on films including Good Time (2017) and One Man Dies a Million Times (2019), are easily recognizable in the film’s intimate camera work. The exposition establishes the off-beat tone of The Sweet East with a blurred and disorientating lens and shaky tracking shots. Rich closeups are striking and beautiful but simultaneously prevent the audience from ever finding stable footing within a scene. Where are we? It can be hard to tell when the camera won’t widen to reveal setting or what comes next. It is the perfect reflection of Lillian’s naivety and blind willingness to follow strangers into the unknown. Clever cinematography carries the film through some of its weaker moments towards the final act.

Talia Ryder’s performance as Lillian is exceptional in an understated and modern way.

Doe eyes, white lies, and a faded Led Zeppelin Tee pretty much sum up Lillian, but Ryder brings the innocence and naivety of a lonely and misunderstood teen to the character’s blank stare. Lillian is frustratingly unaware of her actions and their consequences, which makes her an insufferable lead, but that is definitely the point.

There are a lot of ‘points.’ Maybe too many. But the captivatingly crazy story is forgiving. Lillian soars from extreme to extreme in a somewhat jarring rollercoaster ride. She has a knack for getting herself into trouble, and then somehow scrambling her way back out of it. It’s electrically charged and doesn’t leave you with any time to ponder.

Ayo Edebiri and Jeremy O. Harris are hilarious in the film’s second act. Plucking Lillian off the streets and reeling her straight into an audition for their insane film premise: something that involves period costumes and Jacob Elordi’s character Ian doing a comically unreliable old English accent. Edebiri is gathering a lot of steam for her comedic performance in Bottoms (2023) and breakout success in The Bear (Ongoing) and delivers once again in The Sweet East.

Simon Rex is hilarious too, playing a caricature of a Nazi sympathizer who welcomes Lillian into his home with a set of swastika bed sheets and a copy of Mein Kampf.

It doesn’t get any less crazy. It even has a Tarantino-esque action sequence where an itchy trigger finger leads to a senseless shootout with guns galore and heads ludicrously exploding like watermelons.

It’s funny, it’s melancholic, and it’s reflective. A few hiccups with pacing towards the end, but nevertheless an impressive directorial debut and first step for Williams.

Instead of playing it safe, he goes all out and embraces the absurdity of the narrative. You can already see the potential for his distinct style to grow and mature in his future projects

Review by Beth Mackiewicz and Ezra Kaye