Review of Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) by Vite M — 04 Mar 2012

The premise of Martha Marcy May Marlene is intriguing, but the execution is not. Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) is a young woman who leaves a cult and must adjust to life in the "normal world." Predictably, she struggles to understand the mores and taboos of life outside of a cult. Olsen is excellent as Martha, especially since this is her debut role.

The problem is that the film barely has any liveliness and the script feels like a first draft. This would be ok if there was some insight about cults, but the cult depicted in the film is generic and uninteresting. The best parts of Martha Marcy May Marlene are when Martha commits a faux pas, such as climbing into her sister and brother-in-law's bed while they are having sex, or when she goes skinny dipping in an area surrounded by children.