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- Running time:
- 101 minutes
- Rated:
- R
- Cast:
- Elizabeth Olsen -
- Martha
- Sarah Paulson -
- Lucy
- John Hawkes -
- Patrick
- Hugh Dancy -
- Ted
- Brady Corbet -
- Watts
(1 rating)
After escaping a small, sinister cult in upstate New York, Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) contacts her older sister (Sarah Paulson), who she hasn’t seen or talked to in two years, and goes to live with her and her husband (Hugh Dancy) without telling them anything about where she’s been. As Martha tries to readjust to “normal” life, she’s haunted by the lingering trauma of her experiences with the cult and its dangerously charismatic leader (John Hawkes).
The buzz: First time feature filmmaker Sean Durkin picked up the Best Director jury prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where “Martha Marcy” drew much acclaim, a distribution deal with Fox Searchlight and plenty of jokes about its unique title. Also widely praised: the stunning star turn from Olsen—the younger sister of “Full House” twins Mary Kate and Ashley—making her feature film debut.
The verdict: Weird title for a movie, right? Get used to it, because chances are you’ll be telling others about this slow-burning psychological thriller of the highest order. Exactly the kind of buzzworthy film that keeps Sundance at the peak of the festival pack, “Martha Marcy” is an unusually unsettling experience, designed to leave you as haunted as its heroine. Without slipping into exploitation territory or little girl lost clichés, Durkin creates incredible suspense by gradually revealing Martha’s past experiences with the cult, while using her uncertain mental state as a ticking timebomb in the present. The fractured narrative matches Martha’s fractured mental state, and keeps the audience as paranoid as she is. Of course, the approach wouldn’t work at all without an expert actress holding it together. Olsen delivers above and beyond by nailing Martha’s contrasting qualities of vulnerability and strength, naiveté and intelligence. Hawkes and Paulson are equally impressive as two very different family figures. Exceptionally acted across the board—the cast also includes Brady Corbet and Louisa Krause as key cult members—and constructed with amazingly assured artistry by first-timer Durkin, “Martha’s” title may be a mouthful, but its atmosphere of dread will linger in your memory.
Did you know? In preparation for his feature debut, Durkin made the similarly cult-themed short “Mary Last Seen” (also featuring “Martha” co-star Corbet), which was accepted into the 2010 Sundance and Cannes film festivals, a year before “Martha Marcy May Marlene” followed suit.
Follow Metromix's Geoff Berkshire on Twitter: @geoffberkshire
Movie Trailer:
SHOWTIME LISTINGS
Movie theaters and showtimes for Martha Marcy May Marlene in Atlanta.
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