The Sweet East

Play trailer

1:38

The Sweet East

2023

1h 44m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

72 Reviews

54%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

The Sweet East is a picaresque journey through the cities and woods of the Eastern seaboard of the United States undertaken by Lillian, a high school senior from South Carolina who gets her first glimpse of the wider world on a class trip to Washington, D.C. Separated from her schoolmates, she embarks on a fractured fairy tale travelogue into America, where she is granted access to a variety of the strange factions that proliferate the present-day unreality of contemporary life.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Christina Newland

iNews.co.uk

09/17/2024

4/5

It may not always hang together into a perfectly cogent social or political message, but it does feel like a fascinating series of vignettes about just how far we’ve all fallen.

Go to Full Review

Catherine Wheatley

Sight & Sound

04/02/2024

The Sweet East reveals itself as an undeniably exhilarating ride, surreal and satirical, and not quite of this world.

Go to Full Review

Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

04/01/2024

2/5

Saltburn’s Jacob Elordi and The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri are the big draws in this ramshackle American satire that’s equal parts punk swagger and lazy repetition.

Go to Full Review

Diego Batlle

Otroscines.com

Feb 2

3/5

It's clear that Sean Price Williams enjoys the provocative style of 1970s American cinema...but The Sweet East —even with its quirks, arbitrary choices, and significant inconsistencies between scenes—stands on its own. [Full review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

Cameron Ritter

Geek Vibes Nation

07/19/2025

7.5/10

The Sweet East is a powerful debut from Sean Price Williams that depicts both the wonder of adolescence and exploration as well as the absurdity of people and situations we might find ourselves in if we stray too far from home.

Go to Full Review

Anna Hoang

Boston Hassle

07/14/2025

3.5/5

Don’t feel pressured to keep at the same pace as the film on your first watch. THE SWEET EAST can be like a cold shower — something that invokes initial resistance, until you find that this is more soothing for your well-being.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Ghederick Eshmont

01/27/2024

The film is very fun & compelling in the first 45mins…but the final hour is a bit of a slog.

See more

Josef G

@Jimmygoombas 08/15/2025

One of the most pretentious and boring movies I have ever seen, I could not wait for it to end. Felt like an obnoxious film bro was trying to ape a bad A24 movie; it’s the worst kind of “indie” or “art house” experience you can have. Awful, smug and an absolute chore to sit through

See more

thiago s

@Thiagostone 04/29/2025

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, a história é fraca, os personagens sao fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes para fazer o filme ser bom.

See more

Valentina V

@RT94071965 02/09/2025

Just loved Lillian and her ability to navigate every situation unscathed, especially when men of all kinds try to ‘trap’ her in some way. Absolutely a cult.

See more

Henry S

@RT91463566 09/27/2024

i expected more but got less

See more

Bruce W

@RT56774857 07/30/2024

Talia Ryder is incredible. I’m usually not a huge fan of weird indies, but this is an exception

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Sean Price Williams

Director

Talia Ryder

Lillian

Earl Cave

Caleb

Simon Rex

Lawrence

Jacob Elordi

Ian

Jeremy O. Harris

Matthew

Good One

98%

71%

Good One

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Good One

Mending the Line

77%

82%

Mending the Line

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Mending the Line

Fremont

98%

84%

Fremont

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Fremont

Rule of Thirds

%

92%

Rule of Thirds

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Rule of Thirds

The Sky is Everywhere

66%

57%

The Sky is Everywhere

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Sky is Everywhere

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

The Sweet East: Trailer 1

1:38

Now Playing

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

The Sweet East is a picaresque journey through the cities and woods of the Eastern seaboard of the United States undertaken by Lillian, a high school senior from South Carolina who gets her first glimpse of the wider world on a class trip to Washington, D.C. Separated from her schoolmates, she embarks on a fractured fairy tale travelogue into America, where she is granted access to a variety of the strange factions that proliferate the present-day unreality of contemporary life.

Director: Sean Price Williams
Producer: Craig Butta, Alex Coco, Alex Ross Perry
Screenwriter: Nick Pinkerton
Distributor: Utopia
Production Co: Base 12 Productions, Marathon Films
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 1, 2023, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $331.9K
Runtime: 1h 44m

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings