Which movie most effectively used an ambiguous ending? Each time I watch it, I am blown away by how well made and engrossing this movie is. Martha who became Marcy May who became Marlene Lewis who went back to Martha. But now Olsen is living with Paulson and Paulson’s new husband (Hugh Dancy) in their swank lakeside vacation home in Connecticut. She calls her sister. Martha Marcy May Marlene. She can make jokes. Are her old cult-mates coming to take her back? the knowledge that ur a burden in regular society. Even the title "Martha Marcy May Marlene" is so boring that most thriller audiences will fall asleep before they finish reading it. Cult Member Louisa Braden Johnson. It's a classic cult technique, where the leader teaches disciples that black is really white -- see the scene where he…. Louisa Krause Zoe. The first line of dialogue in this film is “Marcy? The most boring thriller ever made... and I loved it. 6 1 vote. Sean Durkin Director. The cliche that I was so sick of going into this was the idea of a character who has come through a…, Essentially a crisply edited exploration of a psychologically adrift woman's head leading up to a gutpunch ending, but it's terrifically executed, with palpable tension to every scene. Though the familiarity of the cult is perhaps a strength - these flashback scenes feel more predictable and thus more stable than post-escape life. * *Nobody cares if you don't think…, Essential melancholy for people who'd love to bedew in sadness, full of contemplation as we then witness these characters at…, Jayce Fryman 18,694 films 2,839 99 Edit, This list collects every film from the Starting List that became They Shoot Pictures Don't They's 1000 Greatest Films. Played wonderfully by Elizabeth Olsen, who almost unbelievably at the time only had one film under her name, Martha placed her unstable state of mind after escaping from an abusive cult on the table for us to marvel and study. Pessimistic worldviews. Man in Home #2 Lauren Molina. Zoe Sarah Paulson. That uncertainty about what’s real and what’s imagined makes Martha Marcy May Marlene a little hard to follow in its back half, as Durkin flows freely between flashbacks to the compound and scenes at the lake house, with little to indicate clearly where we are at any given moment. She can ask people about things other than her own experience. The way that both settings/timelines in this movie share a strong connection in tone generally while being easy to track with small differences is amazing. And at night, she hears knocking sounds on the roof, which reminds her of the stones she and her fellow cultists used to throw at big houses, to see if anyone was home before they snuck in and burgled the places. After watching Martha Marcy May Marlene last night I could do nothing but sit in awe. But before you click away in search of Saw IX, consider this question: Which is more powerful, a bunch of quick forgettable shocks, or a slow intensifying charge that builds up over 102 minutes? i liked the cuts back and forth from the scenes with her sister, and the scenes at the cult. the calm and the storm are the same. "Martha Marcy May Marlene" is a dramatic character study which edges towards psychological thriller. acted and directed like a sensitive drama rather than a scary movie, and is all the scarier for it. For when you want to wallow in despair. He must have really did his research because the…, Cults in movies are rarely subtle; they deal with larger than life crazy leaders, overt physical and mental abuse and normally end in a blood bath. a terrifying depiction of the paralyzing dehuminization caused by manic cult leaders and their communions. More. Info; Cast; Report; what going on? Drama, Mystery, Thriller. Take a look back at Elizabeth Olsen's movie and TV career in photos. Martha Marcy May Marlene is - despite its clumsy title - a meditative, slow paced, character-driven psychological drama with elements of the thriller-genre. Chilling and terrifying. Variety She can speak in complete sentences and use contractions. Full Cast & Crew: Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) Cast (54) Elizabeth Olsen. Is she—just maybe—completely misremembering what happened to her on the farm? I haven't seen most of these movies.…, *Music to listen to - www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN-KHZ9NDVA*, Movies that are equivalent to dream-pop, shoegaze music - They possess an ethereal emptiness…, OB-GYN Kenobi 3,803 films 7,141 105 Edit, Step One: Go to www.random.org. Also a wonderful illustration of how people can become complicit in their own abuse if there is a strong enough system in place to justify/perpetuate that abuse. Cast and crew. the dread and distrust of ur own past. Variety Martha Marcy May Marlene is a riveting thriller/mental mindjob of a movie that follows Martha as the timeline ducks and weaves back and forth through two different traumatic periods of her life. 102 min While his performance was a major contributing factor to the success of the portrayal of a cult and its leader/followers, so was the script written by writer/director Sean Durkin. definitely takes the latter approach, slowly seeping under your skin, never quite giving you the cathartic release of a good zap, but overall delivering just as much power as any popcorn-spilling slasher, but in a very different way. See photos of celebrities like Scarlett Johansson and Leonardo DiCaprio before they hit the big-time, and revisit their earliest onscreen roles. Equally terrific is John Hawkes (who also rocked a slightly different kind of character in Winter's Bone) as the cult leader. ), and the cult is perhaps the most awful version of a generic cult that could exist in this semi-naturalistic film. But because the movie plays on so many common fears—including fears of being in a remote house with big windows when intruders arrive—the confusion of Martha Marcy May Marlene proves effective, not sloppy. Where are you going?” Then we see Elizabeth Olsen, in the titular role (and in a stunning performance), running across the road to escape into the forest. Elizabeth Olsen was TERRIFIC in this, for starters. No caso, a personagem, vivida por Elizabeth Olsen no seu papel de estreia, parece estar constantemente à deriva, sendo ora carregada pela corrente dos acontecimentos (não é à toa que ela é constantemente atraída ao mar), ora pelas decisões de outras pessoas, ora pelos eventos traumáticos do passado.O filme concentra-se em dois momentos distintos da vida de Martha: sua entrada e anos de permanência em uma comunidade isolada, e sua saída dessa comunidade, retornando à família que resta (sua irmã), carregando as vivências e cicatrizes desse tempo passado.