Review of Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) by Prasad P — 03 Apr 2013

This nerve-shredding psychological thriller boasts two bright stars - and both are debutants. One is first-time writer/director Sean Durkin, who deftly navigates the tricky landscape of the film's psyche, balancing its nuanced subtlety with the grace of a legendary trapeze artist.

The other is Elizabeth Olsen (younger sibling of the ubiquitous media twins Mary Kate and Ashley) who delivers a performance of shattering clarity, colouring the prism of her character with doses of broken psychosis, uneasy paranoia and concealed dread, delivering a brittle, layered, broken performance of layered, damaged beauty.

Olsen plays Martha, who escapes the hold of a cult and taking refuge with her sister Lucy and her husband Ted (Sarah Paulson and Hugh Dancy). Through flashbacks we see her time with the cult and the hold its chilling, charismatic leader Patrick (an outstanding John Hawkes) has on his followers, and the effect it has on those trying to help her.

Proving herself an actress of remarkable range and a talent to watch, Olsen tracks Martha's psychological damage with rare grace and understated delicacy, while director Durkin masterminds the film's quietly nerve-wracking tone, sharp characterization and surefooted pacing without missing a beat.