East of Eden review – Florence Pugh’s soapy Steinbeck adaptation is brilliant, compelling TV

<p>This take on the 1952 novel is lavishly shot and full of excellent performances. It lacks the heft to be a full examination of human nature, but it’s a high-quality family saga</p><p>It is rarely difficult to distinguish between a&nbsp;John Steinbeck novel and a ray of sunshine. The new adaptation of his 1952 book East of Eden doesn’t buck the trend and wastes no time plunging us into the murk. The opening scene follows a beaten, bloodied woman as she crawls across a muddy field towards the only house for miles around. Out of the house come two brothers. One rushes to rescue her. The other takes one look and announces: “This is a mistake.” Brother,&nbsp;you have no idea.</p><p>The rescuer is Adam Trask (Christopher Abbott), the sceptic Charles (Mike Faist). Cut back 25 years to watch them being raised in misery in an&nbsp;essentially motherless household by their monstrous father, Cyrus (Tracy Letts), a civil war veteran and ceaseless recounter of his heroics therein. Charles longs to follow in his footsteps. Adam is beaten&nbsp;for his lack of aggressive instinct. But it is Adam&nbsp;whom Cyrus sends to enlist and Charles he forces&nbsp;to stay behind and work on the family farm. “Because,” he says to Adam in a rare instance of paternal wisdom, “there are loose things in him that&nbsp;should be reined down.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/oct/01/east-of-eden-review-florence-pugh-john-steinbeck">Continue reading...</a>