Review of Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) by Rpg D — 01 Mar 2012

Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) is a young woman who flees a cult-like commune and goes to live with her yuppie sister, Lucy (Sarah Paulson) and her husband, Ted (Hugh Dancy). But, the more Martha attempts to escape the effects of her life with the commune, the more the unpleasant memories begin to tear her apart and make her question her safety and sanity.

I liked "Martha" but, wasn't blown away by it. It is a well directed drama working for the most part with subtleties, only occasionally do we get a brief moment of violence or intense drama but, for the most part, the film maintains a slow burn.

And this serves the story well as the narrative switches between the present and flashbacks of Martha's increasingly unhappy time with the commune and it's smulderingly psychotic leader, Patrick (played with a quiet menace by John Hawkes).

The performances are all good with Olsen effectively portraying an emotionally confused and damaged woman wanting to feel normal but, who can't. But, with all writer/director T. Sean Durkin gets right, there is something missing that keeps one from getting really involved in Martha's emotional plight.

Maybe it's the character's emotional distance that keeps us from embracing her drama. Martha is a guarded person and she keeps us out just as much as her sibling. We see her ordeal in flashbacks but, the character's reluctance to reach out to those around her, keeps our emotional investment at a distance, just as her refusal to come clean and tell her sister everything, keeps Lucy and Ted in the dark.

Maybe it's also because her self absorbed sister and husband don't evoke our sympathy, either. Martha is more of an inconvenience then a relative in need. The lack of any real communication between them get's frustrating.

It's also possible the problem is simply because the story never comes to a satisfying conclusion or gives us any real dramatic payoff. And that hurts this fine effort the most. After watching this tormented woman for over an hour and a half we are left with an ambiguous climax that only serves to make us ask ourselves "what was the point?".