Seamlessly weaving his story with flashbacks and the present, director Sean Durkin presents a low-key thriller from the perspective of a young, unstable woman (think Black Swan). The opening scene transports us to a seemingly bucolic setting, a slightly rundown farmhouse, men hammering and women mending, a couple of kids, in a remote area which is tucked into the hills of the Catskills. We meet Martha who meets Patrick who quickly anoints her Marcy May, and by doing so, rebirths her into a new life in the cult commune. His eyes tell it all; they’re penetrating, his look sinister yet seductive , his voice sincere (think Charles Manson). This is a psychological thriller and within moments, apprehension and anxiety begin to mount.
From there, the story unfolds with Marcy May running away from the cult and going to live with her estranged sister. They are awkward with one another; Guilt weighing on Lucy, frustration consuming Ted (Lucy’s husband) and increasing paranoia in Martha. Flashbacks fill in the blanks and introduce the viewers to the life Marcy May led under the strange manipulative influence of Patrick.
The present deals with Martha who is tortured by her twisted desire to go back to the commune and her revulsion of what went on there. Her mind wanders back and forth between the past and the present, and she slips in and out of reality. Martha resists telling her clueless sister where she was and with who, but wouldn’t you think that after the third totally inappropriate episode with Martha, Lucy would persist in discovering the what and where of Martha’s last two years? Instead we hear “What’s wrong with you”? Plenty!
By the time the movie ended, I was as paranoid as Marcy May; she got under my skin and I couldn’t shake her off. The baffling and somewhat infuriating ending only added to my distress.
Spoiler Alert: “All the children are boys”. “He only has boys”. Who’s buried in the backyard? We see two or three white crosses in the backyard in the first scene.
Elizabeth Olsen(sister of the twins) makes her debut and leaves no doubt that she is on her way to a career in film. John Hawkes is compelling, scary and yes sexy. Sarah Paulson and Hugh Dancy co-star in this Sundance favorite.
Martha Marcy May Marlene
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Posted in From My Point of View - Personal commentary on Movies and Books, tagged Black Swan, Charles Manson, Elizabeth Olsen, Hugh Dancy, John Hawkes, Marcy May, Patrick, Sarah Paulson on November 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Seamlessly weaving his story with flashbacks and the present, director Sean Durkin presents a low-key thriller from the perspective of a young, unstable woman (think Black Swan). The opening scene transports us to a seemingly bucolic setting, a slightly rundown farmhouse, men hammering and women mending, a couple of kids, in a remote area which is tucked into the hills of the Catskills. We meet Martha who meets Patrick who quickly anoints her Marcy May, and by doing so, rebirths her into a new life in the cult commune. His eyes tell it all; they’re penetrating, his look sinister yet seductive , his voice sincere (think Charles Manson). This is a psychological thriller and within moments, apprehension and anxiety begin to mount.
From there, the story unfolds with Marcy May running away from the cult and going to live with her estranged sister. They are awkward with one another; Guilt weighing on Lucy, frustration consuming Ted (Lucy’s husband) and increasing paranoia in Martha. Flashbacks fill in the blanks and introduce the viewers to the life Marcy May led under the strange manipulative influence of Patrick.
The present deals with Martha who is tortured by her twisted desire to go back to the commune and her revulsion of what went on there. Her mind wanders back and forth between the past and the present, and she slips in and out of reality. Martha resists telling her clueless sister where she was and with who, but wouldn’t you think that after the third totally inappropriate episode with Martha, Lucy would persist in discovering the what and where of Martha’s last two years? Instead we hear “What’s wrong with you”? Plenty!
By the time the movie ended, I was as paranoid as Marcy May; she got under my skin and I couldn’t shake her off. The baffling and somewhat infuriating ending only added to my distress.
Spoiler Alert: “All the children are boys”. “He only has boys”. Who’s buried in the backyard? We see two or three white crosses in the backyard in the first scene.
Elizabeth Olsen(sister of the twins) makes her debut and leaves no doubt that she is on her way to a career in film. John Hawkes is compelling, scary and yes sexy. Sarah Paulson and Hugh Dancy co-star in this Sundance favorite.
Martha Marcy May Marlene
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