Review No.10: Martha Marcy May Marlene

Occasionally you can spot a star-making performance in a film and that's what I feel Elizabeth Olsen delivers in drama Martha Marcy May Marlene. Olsen stars as Martha a young woman who we see escaping from a cult as the film begins we then see two stories run simultaneously as Martha tries to reconnect with her estranged sister and that of how Martha became cult member Marcy May and why she wanted to leave. The latter story sees the emotionally vulnerable Martha being manipulated by the charismatic cult leader Patrick who regularly rapes the new girls that come to his commune and then brainwashes them into believing this is the right thing. In the present day Martha struggles to adjust from her life away from Patrick in her sister's husband's holiday home she is haunted by visions of her past and is constantly nagged at by sister Lucy who wonders where she has been for the past two years. Things come to a head when we finally learn why Martha left the cult and the whole thing ends on an ambiguous note that I found very frustrating.

And that ending would be my biggest criticism of Martha Marcy May Marlene because the rest of it is absolutely captivating stuff. Olsen's turn reminds me of a young but more talented Scarlett Johansson as she lets her facial expressions do the talking for her which is the mark of a good actress. She is able to demonstrate a cavalcade of emotions from unsure to confident to disturbed throughout the film and I personally got the idea that Martha was trapped wherever she was. John Hawkes' Patrick is also a terrifying presence throughout the film he is on one hand very charming but on the other very sinister so even though he's not on screen as much as the actor deserves his small appearances are always met with trepidation. Sarah Paulson and Hugh Dancy also do a good job of playing the stable suburban couple who have been infiltrated by a troublesome relative who generally seems to be a hindrance to their plans of starting a family. The two stories running side by side works perfectly as we the audience aren't really sure what Martha is so terrified off until the final part of the film and we also get the feeling that Martha will never be completely free. While I do appreciate that an ambiguous ending works in some films I thought this should've had some definitive resolution one way or another and that did annoy me as did the off-key score which was overused a little too much for my liking.

Verdict: A strong psychological drama that sticks with you long after it finishes with a great breakout performance from Olsen and therefore deserving of a 8/10