‘East Of Eden’ review: brutal American epic powered by Florence Pugh

Netflix released all seven episodes of "East of Eden," an adaptation of John Steinbeck's 1952 novel, on Thursday, October 1, according to IndieWire. The series was written primarily by Zoe Kazan and stars Florence Pugh, who also serves as an executive producer.

The new version marks the first major screen adaptation since Elia Kazan's 1955 film starring James Dean, and critics say Zoe Kazan's take, co-showrun with Jeb Stuart, sticks closer to Steinbeck's novel than that earlier movie, The Hollywood Reporter reported. THR noted the character of Lee, a central figure in the book, was cut entirely from the 1955 film but is restored here.

The cast includes Christopher Abbott as Adam Trask and Mike Faist as his half-brother Charles, raised by their father Cyrus, a Civil War veteran played by Tracy Letts. Pugh plays Cathy Ames, who arrives at the Trask home "beaten and bloody," as Variety described the opening. Hoon Lee plays the Trasks' manservant Lee, Ciarán Hinds plays neighbor Samuel Hamilton, and Martha Plimpton plays brothel madam Faye. Joseph Zada and Joe Anders play Adam's sons Cal and Aron, with Zoe Phillips as Abra, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In an exchange quoted by NME, Charles tells Cathy, "Marriage isn't so easy to undo." The Guardian quoted Cyrus telling Adam that "there are loose things in him that should be reined down," the reasoning he gives for sending Adam to war while keeping Charles on the family farm.

Steinbeck regarded East of Eden as his finest work even though critics of the time disagreed, and the public turned it into a bestseller anyway, The Guardian reported. Zoe Kazan is the granddaughter of Elia Kazan, who directed the 1955 film version. Variety reported that production on the new series moved to New Zealand as a cost-cutting measure, with Garth Davis directing episodes one through four and Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre directing episodes five through seven. Alexander Chee co-wrote one episode with Kazan, the only installment she did not write alone, per Variety.

Reviews of the series were largely favorable. Variety called Pugh "fantastic" and praised Hoon Lee's performance as a standout, while The Hollywood Reporter said the show is "rich, morally complex and packed with memorable performances" but described Abbott's performance as "mopey, one-note." The Guardian called it "brilliant, compelling TV" as a family saga but said Cathy "remains a spectacle to be ogled rather than a fully fledged character." Variety also reported that Kazan originally intended the series to run eight episodes before it was ultimately produced as seven.