Trapped inside the theatre and your own mind. That’s how Sean Durkin’s film “Martha Marcy May Marlene†makes you feel. Ultimately it’s a mixed blessing though, as the journey Elizabeth Olsen goes on, stuck in a cult before escaping and trying to put the pieces of her life back together, should make you feel uncomfortable, impatient and claustrophobic. Behind earthy, beautiful and deceptive cinematography by Jody Lee Lipes, you, like Olsen’s character, are almost brainwashed into loving this film.
But a closer look at it reveals its weaknesses.
Slow plot development with no real climax make this more of a character study than a true cinematic work. Most of the action takes place in the beginning of the film. The rest of the time is dedicated between showing the unraveling of Olsen’s character and her attempt at readjusting to society. It’s an uncomfortable and weird tale, with hints of heartwarming moments. Her family clearly loves her, as her sister [Sarah Paulson] and brother in-law [Hugh Dancy] take her off the street without hesitation. But they too can do little to help. Unable to open up to her family, all she can do is continue her tormented life.
This film does a fantastic job of showing the emotional captivity Olsen’s character deals with on an everyday basis, both while on the ranch and when she escapes. The situation she gets herself into with her family is real and effectively shows the desperation of the character. While they seem trivial at first, [her lack of manners at the dinner table] they get progressively worse and make the film interesting enough to keep you waiting for something.
Unfortunately that never comes.
Olsen is both innocent and evil in this flick and while her beauty helps her a tad, it’s her eyes that help her the most. Displaying innocence on-screen rarely seen, you connect with her character from the start. Her pain and suffering is yours. Her interactions with cult leader Patrick (Played evilly well by ‘Eastbound and Down’s John Hawkes) will emotionally tear you apart. Witnessing her loss of innocence and her later role in doing the same thing to others, you see how far she’s fallen.
The only problem is the film offers nothing else to draw you in. The ending will induce a “what the hell” kind of feeling, making it memorable for the excellent performances of Olsen and Hawkes and the cinematography. In the end, while not entirely passable, it fails to make the most of its positives.
While Durkin, who also wrote the film, should be commended for getting the most of his two stars, the lack of real action after the first few scenes and the hap-dash ending are enough to wake you out of the trance the film puts you in early on.
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