Plot: This fresh interpretation of Steinbeck’s masterpiece will explore the multigenerational saga of the Trask family, focusing new attention on its indelible antihero, Cathy Ames
Review: John Steinbeck, like many iconic and notable authors, is one of those writers that everybody claims to have read, but probably has only cracked open the required reading during their school days. That means most people are likely familiar with The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck’s extensive library of Pulitzer- and Nobel Prize-winning works includes Cannery Row and the oft-cited East of Eden. East of Eden was adapted into a popular 1955 film by director Elia Kazan, starring James Dean in one of his few roles. That classic film clocked in at just under 2 hours and excised a significant portion of Steinbeck’s 600-page epic. While the 1981 television miniseries restored much of the writing, there has never been a truly definitive take on East of Eden until now. With Zoe Kazan, the granddaughter of Elia, aboard as executive producer, writer, and showrunner, Netflix’s seven-episode limited series interpretation of the novel is an absolute masterpiece that rivals not only the versions that came before but also the novel itself.
Having seen the entirety of East of Eden, the seven-episode series is not for the faint of heart, as it explores a sprawling timeline going from before the Civil War through World War I and chronicles multiple generations of the Trask family and the biblical drama that their bloodline endures. Echoing the Book of Genesis, notably the story of Cain and Abel, and drawing its title directly from their story, East of Eden deals with eternal themes ranging from love and family to guilt, freedom, and self-destruction. There are pairs of siblings across the multiple generations, led at the beginning by Adam and Charles, and then later by the eerily Cain-and-Abel-reminiscent names Aron and Caleb. The biggest difference between this version and the 1955 film is the point of origin for the narrative. The feature film centered mostly on 1917 and the relationship between Caleb (James Dean), his brother Aron (Richard Davalos), and their contentious relationship with their parents, Adam (Raymond Massey) and Cathy Ames (Jo Van Fleet). In the Netflix series, the film opens with the violent introduction of Cathy (Florence Pugh) to Charles (Mike Faist) and Adam (Christopher Abbott), then flashing back decades earlier to the young Trask boys learning from their father, veteran soldier Cyrus Trask (Tracy Letts). The different way Cyrus treats his two sons sets the tone for where their adult lives take them.
As you can tell from all of the marketing for this new series, the focus is definitely on Florence Pugh in the role of Cathy Ames. Author John Steinbeck envisioned the female antagonist of the story as the devil incarnate, down to the description of her almost having cloven hooves for feet and a scowl on her face. While she is still absolutely the antagonist of the story, the shift in focus that Zoe Kazan brings to this interpretation of the tale is creating more of an anti-hero quality around Cathy and the choices she makes in her life. Florence Pugh, no stranger to nudity on screen, bears all in multiple ways, as Cathy literally whores herself out throughout the entire series. Pugh is one of the most dynamic actresses working today, and she brings a calculating intensity to this portrayal of Cathy Ames that makes her both terrifying to watch and hard not to sympathize with. The triangle among Cathy and the two Trask brothers is accentuated even further by the excellent performances of Christopher Abbott and Mike Faist. Abbott, who is soon to be seen playing Professor X in the new Marvel film based on the X-Men, is more subtle than we’ve seen him before in an intense performance that is quieter than I would have expected from the actor known for his emotionally resonant performances. Faist gets to be a lot more visceral in his performance here, something reminiscent of his turn in Challengers, and also an impressive performance opposite Pugh and Abbott.
The first several episodes of the series set in the late 1800s and early 1900s could operate as a series unto themselves. As the story progresses, it follows Adam and Cathy’s fraternal twin sons Caleb (Joseph Strada) and Aron (Joe Anders), and it becomes almost a sequel in its own right. The depth and range of the story and the challenges the two younger Trasks face, including Aron’s relationship with Abra Bacon (Zoe Phillips), echo the rivalry between Charles and Adam while the specter of Cathy looms over everyone. The series also boasts impressive turns from Ciaran Hinds, Martha Plimpton, and Your Friends & Neighbors’ Hoon Lee as Trask employee Lee. The thematic cycle from one generation to the next is fascinating to watch, and the gorgeous production values that recreate turn-of-the-century Salinas, California, reminded me of the beautiful visuals in last year’s exceptional Train Dreams. The biblical allusions in the story are not subtle, but they work far more naturally here than in the film or the original novel. This is, at times, a melodramatic epic of love and loss that is not shy about pushing every emotional button that you may have, but it is infinitely more relatable than the truncated film was compared to Steinbeck’s book.
Directed by Garth Davis (Lion) and Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre (Lady Chatterley’s Lover), East of Eden transforms the landscape of New Zealand into early twentieth century California in muted hues that reminded me of dramas like Brokeback Mountain and Power of the Dog. There is a more mature feel to East of Eden than I anticipated with the starkness of the story coming through in the unforgiving emotional trauma at the core of the story not just in the repeated conflicts between brothers or any moment featuring Cathy Ames, but also in the recurring theme of timshel from the novel. Inspired by a Hebrew word, timshel becomes the theme of East of Eden. Timshel means “thou mayest” and the idea of controlling your own destiny and changing the path of your story is an intrinsic revitalization of this narrative enhanced by Zoe Kazan. Kazan’s credits as a writer have been impressive in the films Ruby Sparks and Wildlife, but they are no comparison to the mastery she brings to this limited series. Writing with a perspective decades beyond her age, this is a powerful and impressive transformation of a book that many already looked at as a masterpiece. While Alexander Chee shares a scripting credit on one episode, East of Eden will go down as a career-defining moment for Kazan.
Led by what may be the best performance of Florence Pugh’s career, East of Eden strengthens the weakest melodramatic parts of John Steinbeck’s novel and restores the overlooked chapters excised from her grandfather’s feature film while also adding a new layer of depth to the underwritten female and minority characters. East of Eden remains a starkly griping family saga rooted in biblical allegory, but it is also a captivating adaptation. Zoe Kazan has made an accessible and yet still challenging story that will resonate with everyone that watches it and will surely be raking in the trophies. East of Eden is one of the best series of the year and has given Florence Pugh yet another career-defining performance in a career full of them. You will not finish watching East of Eden without having gone through an emotional experience, but it is worth the epic journey from the Civil War to World War I and New England to the Salinas Valley.
East of Eden premieres on October 1st on Netflix.