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Forum namePass The Popcorn
Topic subjectMartha Marcy May Marlene
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=6&topic_id=585589&mesg_id=589803
589803, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Posted by princeguy, Mon Nov-28-11 02:01 PM
The story of a young woman played by Elizabeth Olsen attempting to leave behind the life and ways she adopted from a cult she once belonged to.

The movie starts with her calling her sister for help to get away from the cult and its leader. She has now taken refuge with her unknowing sister in her home. Her sister is a very logical, college educated, and pretty straight-laced person. Her sister's boyfriend is also there in the home. He's also educated, well centered, and cultured, but not as straight laced as his girlfriend. Given this particular scenario, there are instances of confusion, conflict, and just plain weirdness that transpires between the trio as they live under the same roof.

The life Olsen lived with the cult was a very communal driven experience, whereas all of the women had sex with (and raped by) the leader of the cult. They all have roles within their cult and they live together. The cult also has a violent side that couples with hippie-like behavior, so there is passive-aggressiveness everywhere. This actually creates the mystique the cult and its leader possess.

Olsen never tells her sister she was in the cult at all. Her sister believes she just disappeared for 2 years and is now back. The effects from having been abused in the cult, and adopting its way of life mentally, manifests in Olsen's behavior when she's living with her sister and her boyfriend. These instances of communal life beliefs, and mentally disturbed passive aggressive behaviors drive the movie.

Knowing of the evil the cult was capable of, presents the danger in the movie. Olsen called the cult on the phone from her sister's house AFTER she left them and was living with her sister. She started to fear they would find her and come back and get her. This fear created the tension and fear in the movie, and it fueled her paranoid and new mentally challenged psyche and behavior.

Olsen's performance in the movie was excellent. The intimacy and tension in the movie was also excellent. The movie is NOT very creepy. It is NOT very scary, or thrilling. There are times where the movie can be considered slow. Don't expect a roller-coaster ride. There were however, pockets of tension and anticipation. All of the characters were interesting and complex. The acting and the cast was great.

The ending for this movie was HORRIBLE. It was worse than HORRIBLE. It was one of those endings to a movie where you look around and wait for Ashton Kutcher to run at you laughing with his camera because you just got Punked! Its as if they ran out of money and called it a wrap. It was as if the editing destroyed the rest of the film and they had to punch in the credits at the part where the movie was actually getting exciting. It was bad. And you will be mad. You will want to watch all the credits go by expecting that it was done on purpose and the movie isn't actually over because its gonna continue after the credits. But it doesn't. Its sort of unbelievable.

Overall, Olsen's performance and the directing was on point. She was stellar. The acting and characters were great. Everything was believable. But, the ending just pulls the rug out from under you so so bad, that you really can't recommend it to anyone and feel good about it. If you go into knowing this, and don't mind, then go see it. If you HATE endings like that, stay far far away.