Martha Marcy May Marlene

Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Christopher Abbott, Brady Corbet, Hugh Dancy, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson
Directed by: Sean Durkin
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A woman (Elizabeth Olsen) who escaped from a cult struggles to adapt to normal life.

Review:

Tim: Martha Marcy May Marlene isn't just an interesting movie with an annoying title. Well, actually, yes, that's pretty much what it is. The film is certainly complex and frustratingly ambiguous. It's a slow-paced, slow-boil thriller. It features some good performances, but overall, it just misses the mark. The movie features a lot of strengths, but doesn't add up to much at all.

The movie is about a woman who escapes from a cult. We see her struggling to adapt to "normal" life with her sister and her sister's husband. Between these scenes, we get flashbacks to various events in her cult life. This works well enough, as it always keeps us moving. I thought the film did a good job of seamlessly transitioning between the past and the present. It really gave you the sense that the woman's mind was jumbled. I enjoyed that aspect of the film.

Elizabeth Olsen is very good in the lead role. It's the kind of quiet, surprisingly performance that shoots an actress' career into superstardom (see Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone). Olsen is stripped down emotionally, giving a raw, disturbing, yet restrained performance. Her greatest strength is that she keeps everything bottled up inside her. Yet, upon closer examination, you can see the turbulence right beneath the surface. It really is a strong performance, and she is the main reason why it's worth seeing this movie.

The plot does move pretty slow. We move from the present to the past, each time getting a small piece of the puzzle. As the movie progresses, we start fitting the pieces together. Unfortunately, at the end, we still don't have a complete picture. The movie leaves everything ambiguous. I understand this is the cool, indie thing to do at this point, but it makes for a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion. I am all for movies that purposely slow every down, but it has to be building towards something. The payoff has to be worth it. In this case, I felt a little bit cheated.

Martha Marcy May Marlene isn't a bad movie. It has some definite strengths, and it features some strong performances. It is certainly worth seeing. However, I felt like the sum didn't quite equal all of the parts. It felt like a movie with major upside, but directed by someone too inexperienced to put on the finishing touches to make it great. It's no surprise that Sean Durkin made his feature film directorial debut with this film. With more experience, he'd have known how to move this from a decent film to a good one. As is, the movie is interesting, but I couldn't help but lament the opportunities lost. Still, for Olsen's performance, it's worth checking out.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Winter's Bone