Film Review: Martha Marcy May Marlene

Martha Marcy May Marlene is a 2011 independent film directed by Sean Durkin and starring Elizabeth Olsen. It tells the story of a young woman called Martha who escapes a cult and goes to stay with her sister and her brother in law.

Martha is terrified and extremely messed up from her experiences in the cult. The reasons for her terror are gradually revealed to the viewer through flashbacks that begin to get muddled up in the present time which causes increasing stresses for her family as her behaviour become increasingly bizarre.

Martha is unable to articulate the reasons for her unravelling mental state and as a result may be bringing the danger the cult poses closer to home.

This is an impressive film that asks many more questions than it answers and the impact of the story will be felt long after it finishes. Martha Marcy May Marlene is disturbing, clever and effectively made.

4/5 Drink The Kool Aid