Variety
The largely elliptical script feels a few drafts shy of focus, with the thriller elements undermining the juicier questions of why one joins a cult and how life can go back to normal later.
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Martha Marcy May Marlene
Psychodrama, winner of the Directing Award (Dramatic) for first time writer/director Sean Durkin at Sundance 2011, stars Elizabeth Olsen (sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley) as a fragile young woman who escapes from a creepy, Manson-like cult and their charismatic leader (John Hawkes).
She takes refuge at the Connecticut home of her estranged, uptight sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson). When her memories trigger a chilling paranoia, Martha starts to believe that the cult is pursuing her, and the line between reality and delusion blur.
Less2011Rating: NR, for disturbing violent and sexual content, nudity and language102 minsUSA
DramaThriller
- Director:
- Sean Durkin (feature debut)
- Writer:
- Sean Durkin
- Cast:
- Elizabeth OlsenSarah PaulsonJohn HawkesHugh DancyBrady Corbet
Martha Marcy May Marlene | Awards
Winner of the Directing Award (Dramatic) at Sundance Film Festival 2011.
Martha Marcy May Marlene | Reviews
90%210 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® Score
All reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Total Film
A stunningly assured, elegantly crafted and profoundly disturbing portrait of a traumatised mind. Rockets Durkin and Olsen to the top of the ‘ones to watch’ pile.
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Roger Ebert
Ambitious and effective, introducing a gifted young actress and a director whose work I'll anticipate.
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Los Angeles Times
A film of rough edges and no easy answers, nearly perfect in its imperfection.
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Empire Magazine
Too ambiguous for some tastes, this is grim but clever, insidiously creepy and affecting. And in Olsen and Durkin, it marks the arrival of two exciting talents to watch. It still should be called Mental Sex Cult.
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Martha Marcy May Marlene | Release Details
Martha Marcy May Marlene is available to stream in Australia now on Google Play and Apple TV and Disney+ and Prime Video Store.