Review of Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) by Justin L — 27 Feb 2012

If you're like a lot of people, you have a hard time distinguishing between Ashley and Mary Kate Olson. Because of this, you may also have a hard time deciding who is more talented. But now, you don't have to worry about that anymore. Thanks to Sean Durkin's debut film, 'Martha Marcy May Marlene', it's clear that Elizabeth Olson is the one with the acting chops in the family, and the only Olson worth talking about.

Elizabeth Olson is Martha, a young woman who recently escapes from a cult in upstate New York run by a man named Patrick (John Hawkes). After escaping into town, she calls her estranged sister, Lucy (Sarah Paulson), who immediately comes to pick her up and takes her to her summer home in Connecticut. But as Martha tries to re-assimilate back into 'normal' life, she is haunted by bitter memories of her cult experience, which leads to her paranoia blurring the lines between dreams, memory and reality.

Even though she has escaped, the emotional and psychological scars from living two years in a cult begins to bleed into her new life. Every time Martha does anything that reminds her of it - like swimming -, she lapses into a daze that has her remembering what happened to her in vivid, disturbing detail.

Because she's reminded of it so often, she feels like she has never left that cult at all. The successful brainwashing and indoctrination reignites her cult mentality, which slowly, but surely, starts to creep back into her life. As a result, she always feels the presence of the cult and finds it inescapable, a concept made even more dramatic when Martha's paranoia convinces her that this is literally true.

Like most traumatic events, the story is split into two - during the event, at the cult, and after, at her sisters home. Durkin makes it clear that these two events share more in common than just the same protagonists.

Consider the many scenes that are featured in both stories. When closely scrutinized, there are many instances where events from Patrick's farm are mirrored at Lucy's home. Notice carefully the instances where Martha is given lessons on guns and boating, and how she is made to drink special 'cocktails' that 'cleanse' her.

Also, in both cases, they try to 'help' Martha by conditioning her to be what they envision as the ideal. It is strongly suggested that Martha ran away from home because they were too demanding of her. Once home, Lucy, and her husband (Hugh Dancy), immediately set up a plan for Martha's reintegration into 'normal' life.

This leads the viewer to ask a multitude of questions. Did Martha run away from home and join a cult because they tried to force her to be something she didn't want to be? If so, isn't it ironic that she left the cult - her refuge from this kind of conditioning -, for the very same reason? What is Durkin trying to say? Which is the 'real' cult?

One of the main virtues of 'Martha Marcy May Marlene' is its acting. Although Hawkes and Paulson are both reliably proficient, all eyes are firmly fixed on Elizabeth Olson. Durkin makes Martha do some pretty horrific things, but Olson dives into them with immense courage and confidence. Her character is complex, as well as emotionally constrained, but Olson convinces you from the start.

Still, the accolades should go to Durkin and his ability to create intentional ambiguity. As well as suggesting the cult nature of both situations from Martha's life, he also provides subtle indications that Martha's paranoia is not all that inaccurate - that Patrick and his gang are following her. But like all good directors, Durkin doesn't provide you with any easy answers, and in the end, he keeps you constantly guessing, constantly on-edge, and constantly insecure. Which is to say, constantly like Martha.