Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)
Average Rating: 7.7/10
Reviews Counted: 184
Fresh: 165 | Rotten: 19
Led by a mesmerizing debut performance from Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene is a distinctive, haunting psychological drama.
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Critic Reviews: 40
Fresh: 35 | Rotten: 5
Led by a mesmerizing debut performance from Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene is a distinctive, haunting psychological drama.
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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 16,453
Movie Info
Martha Marcy May Marlene is a powerful psychological thriller starring Elizabeth Olsen as Martha, a young woman rapidly unraveling amidst her attempt to reclaim a normal life after fleeing from a cult and its charismatic leader (John Hawkes). Seeking help from her estranged older sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson) and brother-in-law (Hugh Dancy), Martha is unable and unwilling to reveal the truth about her disappearance. When her memories trigger a chilling paranoia that her former cult could still be
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Cast
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Elizabeth Olsen
Martha -
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Brady Corbet
Watts -
Hugh Dancy
Ted -
Maria Dizzia
Katie -
Julia Garner
Sarah -
John Hawkes
Patrick -
Louisa Krause
Zoe -
Sarah Paulson
Lucy -
Adam Thompson
Bartender -
Lauren Molina
Cult Member -
Tobias Segal
Cult Member -
Louisa Braden Johnson
Cult Member -
Gregg Burton
Man in Home #1 -
Allen McCullough
Man in Home #2
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Martha Marcy May Marlene Trailer & Photos
All Critics (186) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (165) | Rotten (19) | DVD (9)
Once we've got over the frustration of this promising film's abrupt ending, we're left with the feeling that you can escape a cult but you can't escape yourself.
Top CriticA purposely disturbing portrait of a damaged psyche.
Durkin depicts a horror that some among us actually live, where the search for family leads to something familiar and dangerous.
"Martha Marcy May Marlene" will stick with you.
Sean Durkin's compulsively watchable first film is a psychological thriller camouflaged as an Ingmar Bergman-style country-house drama.
Hawkes is, as ever, outstanding. But Olsen is a wonder.
Olsen, in a captivating, career-making performance, makes Martha awkward and inscrutable, sexual yet innocent...She makes the journey a mesmerizing and chilling experience and turns a cryptic film into an unforgettable one.
A subtle, yet challenging, character drama with stand-out performances and some truly beautiful camerawork.
A disturbing psychological drama that's guaranteed to rack up more and more followers as its menacing message is spread.
A brilliant exploration of the destructive power of cult conditioning.
It may not be a fun film to watch, or one that you'd care to repeat very often - but it's a necessary experience.
Neither the thriller the trailer suggests, not the feminine, visual poem the poster suggests, this is a film about loss of self that is absolutely clear about its own identity
This is a very real and very chilling look at cult behavior, and it's understandable how this can unnerve parents who worry a lot about their adult children.
This is a troubling portrait of how fear and abuse leave their tentacles in everything they touch - and a haunting one at that.
Olsen delivers an amazing performance and it's tragic seeing her go from a gorgeous young woman to a beautiful basket case. A must see. I've never seen a film that generates such a high level of anxiety by doing so little.
The masterstroke is that Durkin only reveals why Martha is so messed up in flashbacks constructed to mirror her fractured mental state. Olsen plays it with a chilling amount of honesty and the movie creeps up on you and leaves you completely paranoid.
The performance of Olsen, effortlessly moving between playful girlishness, catatonia and hysterical paranoia, is remarkable.
full review at Movies for the Masses
This could have been retitled "Cognitive Dissonance: The Movie".
The title sounds like a demented worshipper counting her beads, which is perhaps not entirely inaccurate.
Like the ordeals of the central character, the film flickers powerfully in the memory.
Mesmerising.
It will stay with you long after watching. Guaranteed.
A slippery thriller about fugitive states, and not knowing where you belong, or even who you are.
It's a brave and engrossing performance from Olsen. Sadly outside of that, the film fails to deliver a satisfying climax.
Olsen puts in a fantastic, natural performance in a film which is shocking at times as it builds to a disturbing conclusion.
Audience Reviews for Martha Marcy May Marlene
Super Reviewer
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- Martha: Not everything has to be a big deal.
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- Patrick: Your my favorite. I won't lose you.
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- Patrick: Death is pure love.
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- Lucy: Sometimes I think I just should have come home, and made sure you went to college. You had so much potential.
- Martha: I don't need your guidance now and I didn't then. I am a teacher and a leader. You just never let me be that, but now I am, and I know who I am.
- Lucy: A teacher and a leader? What are you talking about?
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- Martha: You learned to measure success by money and possessions.
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- Martha: Patrick only has boys.
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| One of the Most Under-Appreciated Films I Know | 3 months ago | 4 |
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Movie: ID: 771224182 Title: Martha Marcy May Marlene Release Date: 2011-10-21 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 4 Status: 1
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I would like to watch this movie again before I review it properly as it is quite complex and I didn't know what it was about initially. Quite compelling viewing about the effects of a cult.