One of the most present fears in all of us is paranoia; that feeling that you're never safe and there's always someone around the corner. You can't escape it, you can't forget it, and there's no way possible to kill it, it just stays with you forever. Paranoia is the driving base behind Martha Marcy May Marlene, a powerful and thought provoking thriller about paranoia and how it affects everyone around you.
What is it about? Martha (Elizabeth Olsen, yes, she's related to Mary Kate & Ashley) escapes from an...unorthodox cult led by the sinister Patrick (John Hawkes) and all of his followers in NY. She calls her sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson), who she hasn't seen in two years, and tells her to come get her, and as a result, ends up in Conneticut with Lucy and her husband Ted (Hugh Dancy). She tells them she's been in a relationship the last two years, completely avoiding all of the truth about what really happened as a result, confusing Lucy and Ted with her bizzare behavior, offputting questions, and tendencies to get naked and walk in on them having sex. Little things like that. Soon after, Martha feels that the cult is coming to get her, and based on past memories...she knows they're not playing around.
The positives: Elizabeth Olsen's performance as Martha is absolutely immaculate. She's easily the most talented Olsen sister by miles, and performances like this should easily start to cement a groundbreaking career for her. Not once do you believe she's acting. Martha is a fucked up, paranoid, possibly crazy hot mess of a human being that Olsen portrays her as in a perfect way. She tries so hard to be normal but the brainwashing inflicted on her by the cult makes that goal next to impossible. Some of her scenes are just heartbreaking just in the looks that Olsen gives her sister and her husband.
Olsen isn't the only one to shine here. Sarah Paulson as Martha's sister is also terribly talented in this role as well, as the sister who might as well be on a different planet. She tries so hard to understand Martha's bizzare behavior but she can't, and that just kills her on the inside. John Hawkes as the cult's leader also leaves some impact, this dude is fucking creepy. Every second of him on camera is filled with tension and menace. He's a true villian and plays the role to perfection.
Though it's far from a horror movie, Martha Marcy May Marlene is quite the chilling movie as well. The structure of the movie jumps back and forward from her flashbacks of the cult to how bad she's fucked up in the present day. The cult scenes are extremely...creepy to say the least. Even the Manson family would be slowly backing towards the door based on some of the shit this family does. And though the ending and overall last half of the movie has stirred up quite a debate, I actually quite enjoyed it. It's not a movie that explicitly states what's going on. It's more so your perception of everything. Did Martha see that particular person or is it just something worked up in her imagination? Is there something to worry about or is Martha just fucking nuts? These are questions that will stay in your mind for long after the movie is over.
The bad: Though I have very little negatives about this movie, I do wish more time had been spent on the cult and how they originated/why they did the shit they did. You do get to see some of the "initiation" process of people into the cult and how they all get their "special night" with Patrick, but you never really know much else about them except for that they're open with sex/nudity and not afraid of a death (easily the movie's creepiest scene).
Martha Marcy May Marlene is quite the unforgettable movie about how fucked up things in life will impact our future. It makes you wonder how much paranoia plays into your mind and if the monster in your closet is a delusion or a tangible threat. It's very suspenseful and Olsen's performance is easily worthy of an Oscar nomination. So of course she won't get one. Or maybe I'm just being paranoid. :P
4/4
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