As moviegoers we are conditioned to expect closure with our stories, especially since  L’Avventura or Blow-Up (sorry, I’m on a Michelangelo Antonioni kick) have no business in our local megaplexes.  First time filmmaker Sean Durkin offers something way left of center, and in a subtle yet bracing fashion, succeeds with the hauntingly poetic and heartbreaking Martha Marcy May Marlene.

Yearning for an extended family and a different life, Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) moves in with a rural farming community in Upstate New York.  It’s a group with a seductive and calculating leader (John Hawkes) who sees our protagonist as his “Marcy May.”  Obviously, the new nickname beguiles her, and the rest of the clan, she falls under his hypnotic spell.  When violence enters the picture and shatters her halcyon vision, Martha emotionally defaults into survival mode.

She flees and finds refuge with estranged sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson) and her British architect brother-in-law (Hugh Dancy) in Connecticut.  But hanging with her blood at a summerhouse is far from idyllic, as the past still hangs on her doorstep, with any hopes of a quick transition to a “normal life” obliterated.

Mr. Durkin and cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes create a slow, methodically paced rhythm for the film, preferring long takes over quick cuts, thus giving viewers a richer look into Elizabeth Olsen’s layered work as Martha.  Although she is primarily known as Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s younger sister, it’s merely a side-note in a career that should reach greater heights.  As Jennifer Lawrence burst onto the scene last year with Winter’s Bone, Olsen should garner similar momentum with proper handling by Fox Searchlight, strong word of mouth, and the requisite critical support.

At first glance, Martha Marcy May Marlene centers on two worlds, and one would believe a life in Connecticut, surrounded by a lake and high class problems, is really the only way to go.  But even with the ultimate horrors of her life in the Catskills, Martha saw herself as a leader amidst the group. It was (and still is, in her mentally unstable mind), as late songwriter Nick Drake once sang, a “place to be.”  Within the suburban confines of comfort, Martha sees herself as an absolute alien, and as the days grow longer, her tenuous bond with her sibling steadily weakens.

Click on the media bar and listen to Sarah Paulson talk about her character’s (Lucy) complex and fractured relationship with her younger sister Martha:

Some viewers may take the film to task over its abrupt ending or Martha’s erratic and unsparing behavior.  She is far from likable, and if one is looking for a profound sense of redemption or closure in their films, Martha Marcy May Marlene is not exactly the soup of the day.  But some of our finest films, like anything that’s good in life, needs time to breathe.  Buoyed by inspired and spellbinding work from Olsen and John Hawkes, Martha Marcy May Marlene continues to captivate this movie fan, weeks after the end credits faded to black.

Martha Marcy May movie facts:  Paulson and Hawkes worked together on HBO’s Deadwood.  Sean Durkin received the Directing Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Martha Marcy May Marlene: Rated R.  Running Time:  101 Minutes.  Grade: A

In this following scene, Patrick (Hawkes) gives Martha (Olsen) a morally bankrupt lesson in the woods:

Find Us On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com

Follow Us On Twitter: http://twitter.com/hollyoutbreak

posted by Greg Srisavasdi