Director: Sean Durkin
Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson, Hugh Dancy
Running Time: 120 minutes
Certificate: 15
Synopsis: After running away from an isolated cult-like community, Martha (Olsen) returns to live with her sister (Paulson). But Martha begins to have difficulty integrating back the ‘real world’ after living by a different moral code for so long…
The collective names MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE refer to those used by Elizabeth Olsen’s character at various points in this story. Whether she goes by the name Martha for her actual kin, Marcy May for her adopted family, or Marlene when addressing those outside her cult-like environment, her ever-changing moniker brings an ambiguity to the character, an ambiguity that underpins the entire film.
Coming from writer-director Sean Durkin (making his feature length debut), MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE is a troublesome thing, much like its main character. Durkin does a stellar job of pulling viewers in opposing directions: whilst we applaud Martha’s (to use her birth name) efforts to escape the cult with which she has become disillusioned, once she returns to the arms of her family she is never comfortable. Durkin – along with the impressive Olsen – amp up the cringe factor as Martha displays inappropriate and bizarre behaviour, symptomatic of her time away from ‘normality’.
The true strength of Durkin’s storytelling comes in his decision to run parallel narratives, one past story of Martha’s introduction and assimilation into the cult, and one present in which she struggles to readapt to her old life and true family. Both story trajectories prove disturbing in their own right, be it the slow reveal of the cult’s sinister practices or Martha’s increasing detachment from her sister Lucy.
It is the connection between these stories that brings about the film’s inherent ambiguity: despite the things Martha endures and witnesses whilst in the cult, is it possible that she is still more comfortable in that atmosphere than back with her blood relations? Durkin’s presentation of this central question is well handled, posing questions through contrasting story threads whilst refusing to answer them.
The slick script is also notable for a cast of three-dimensional characters, such as brother-in-law Ted (Hugh Dancy), well meaning but stiff and conservative, and cult leader Patrick (John Hawkes), charming but manipulative, and as frightening as any horror villain you’re likely to meet this year. The finest performance, of course, comes from Olsen as the titular fragmented character, flipping between sweet and sympathetic to borderline psychotic. Such excellent performances on all counts give flesh to these characters, and the more believable they are, the more disturbing the story becomes.
From this feature, some things seem certain: both Sean Durkin and Elizabeth Olsen have promising careers ahead. But these are perhaps the only certainties to come from MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE, which leaves so much open that viewers will be forced to interact with the film. The real strength of such ambiguity can only serve to provoke thought and consideration, and whether you want it to or not, this dark story is sure to the linger in the mind for a while.
MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE is released in UK cinemas 3rd February 2012
