Martha Marcy May Marlene, 2011.
Directed by Sean Durkin.
Starring Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson, and Hugh Dancy.
SYNOPSIS:
The damaged Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) is haunted by painful memories and increasing paranoia struggles to re-assimilate with her family after fleeing an abusive cult.
During the Sydney Film Festival last year I heard over and over again, “You’ve got to see Martha Marcy May Marlene.” Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance at the time and when I did have the luxury of seeing the film late last year I went in cold. Martha Marcy May Marlene is a mesmerising film experience. It’s frightening, harrowing, moving and disturbing; I didn’t know anything about the film beforehand and in a way, I almost want you to be spoiled with not knowing anything either, so this will be as much as possible a spoiler-less review.
You’re brought into the film with emotionally wounded Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) escaping from a commune. She travels into the nearest town and calls her sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson) who collects her. Despite Martha’s physical ‘wellness’ there’s a profound darkness creeping beneath the surface. They haven’t seen each other for years and it’s made very clear as they begin to re-establish contact that Martha’s bohemian ways have baffled her conservative restrained sister Lucy. Elizabeth Olsen is absolutely wonderful. She’s a waif, wraith-like slipping in and out of existence. In moments of her time she’s a crazy liberal bohemian and in others her conception of what is acceptable social interaction and the affects of her time at the commune begin to leak to the surface, despite her attempts to suppress.
Writer-director Sean Durkin does a fantastic job of transitioning the film between the past and the present via Martha’s emotions. Throughout her time at her sister’s waterfront retreat, there are events and cues that trigger our transportation back to the commune. The frightening power of Durkin’s work is how much of an ideal the commune is in Martha’s first insights, while we’re also fully aware of the dread that Olsen’s performance echoed in her escape. Olsen’s performance is revelatory – her range from darkness to light, from fear to joy is captivating. The other performance which people exited the theatre talking about was Patrick (John Hawkes). He’s in the school of Charles Manson – musical, sweet, poetic and a complete outsider. He lulls you sweetly into his allure until you find yourself, ahem, violated, such is his hypnotic and frightening behaviour.
There’s a sense throughout the film that Martha may have been followed. In her state you’re unsure whether it’s her subjective perspective that’s dragging you in or whether there legitimate external antagonists that have come out of the commune with the express intentions of capturing her and taking her back. Durkin plays Paulson’s steady head and jarring logic against the Olsen’s slow deterioration to depression and paranoia. There are moments that Martha is clearly interacting with an antagonist; but, is it real? You decide when you see it.
This is a fantastic film. It may not be a fun film to watch, or one that you’d care to repeat very often – but it’s a necessary experience. Come on, join us… see Martha Marcy May Marlene.
Blake Howard is a writer/site director/podcaster at the castleco-op.com. Follow him on Twitter here:@blakeisbatman.
Originally published February 13, 2012. Updated November 6, 2019.
