Review of Sound of My Voice (2011) by Cameron D — 06 Jun 2012

Sound of My Voice is a low-budget film about a couple, Peter and Lorna, that decides to try and document cults. Ever since Peter's mother died, because the cult she was in didn't allow for her to use modern medicine, he has been on a mission to expose cults for the frauds that they are. Peter and Lorna find themselves inducted into a cult, that holds their meetings in a basement of a mysterious house. Here they are faced with a female leader who claims that she is from the future. First believing all is a hoax, Peter begins to question his own doubts and whether or not this woman is who she says she is.

Sound of My Voice is just one of those movies that manages to get under your skin and make you think. Working off a budget that must have been slim to none, Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling have managed to make a movie that should be applauded and receive more recognition than it will probably get. This movie, right off the bat, sticks the viewer in an uncomfortable situation. We, like the two leads, have no idea what we're getting into or where the car is taking us. As the leads learn more, we learn more. The viewer is kept in the dark, so to speak. A majority, if not all, of the film was shot in the Los Angeles area. Which is always a good thing and should be utilized more often. Here the movie challenges its viewers to make their own decisions on what is going on. Is this woman really from the future? Are what these people doing really right? Twists and turns come about and there's no definitive answers. Brit Marling plays Maggie, the woman from the future, and she has this acting quality about her where she can be one person one second and then completely flip the next. Like the scene where one of her "followers" questions her about a song from the future. First she is gentle and willing to sing the song for the group, yet when she's confronted with the fact that the song isn't from the future she become defensive and angry towards this person. What I'm saying is that she is very convincing. I hope that she finds a solid place in cinema. What really made Sound of My Voice a good movie, was that it kept me thinking about it for the next couple of days and that makes a good movie. If you have the chance to catch this one, it's playing down at the Hollywood Arclight. If you don't, catch it on video, it's worth the watch.