Martha Marcy May Marlene

2011

An escaped cult member experiences paranoia and isolation while attempting to start a new life with her sister's family. Try as Martha might to blend into her new upper-middle-class surroundings, she can't help but be haunted by nightmares of the time she spent under the control of a malevolent cult leader, or the fear that the group is watching her every move and awaiting the perfect moment to take their revenge.

Director: Sean Durkin

Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Christopher Abbott, Brady Corbet, Sarah Paulson, Hugh Dancy

 31 Reviews  28 Awards

Reviews

  • A film of rough edges and no easy answers, nearly perfect in its imperfection.

    Betsy Sharkey - Los Angeles Times

    26 April 2013

  • It's Olsen, as a damaged soul clinging to shifting ground, who makes this spellbinder impossible to shake.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    26 April 2013

  • A linear story, or one that was fragmented more clearly, could have been more effective. Still, a good film, ambitious and effective, introducing a gifted young actress and a director whose work I'll anticipate.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    26 April 2013

  • The acting in Durkin's feature is excellent. Olsen is utilized largely as an object for camera adoration, but not in the usual glamorizing way. Olsen, Hawkes and company play slippery figures with lovely assurance.

    Michael Phillips - The Chicago Tribune

    26 April 2013

  • Olsen's performance is restrained but not tentative; you could say the same for the movie around it.

    Stephanie Zacharek - Movieline

    26 April 2013

Awards

  • Best Actress

    Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (2012)

     

  • Best Film

    Austin Film Critics Association (2011)

     

  • Best American Film (Bedste amerikanske film)

    Bodil Awards (2013)

  • Best New Filmmaker

    Boston Society of Film Critics Awards (2011)

  • Best Actress

    Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2012)

     

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