Title: Martha Marcy May Marlene
Director: Sean Durkin
Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson, Hugh Dancy and Brady Corbet
There’s a mystery going on here. Not just in terms of plot and the story but in this film’s characters, setting and title. From the looks of things, one might be led to think that this film is ostensibly about four different women, but actually it’s about one young woman, Martha (Elisabeth Olsen) and her escape from another ambiguous element, a cult. It’s never stated in this film that it is a cult but all the trappings and conventions are there. A group of young people led by a charismatic leader, Patrick (John Hawkes), manipulating his way for complete control of these young people through intimidation, drug use and a group mentality. Nothing in this film is easy to come by and it’s to the film’s benefit. First time filmmaker, Sean Durkin has constructed a fascinating puzzle of memories, moments and incidents for its audience to put together and figure out. Interestingly, the assembly of this film will not be clear from person to person, and moreover, neither will the outcome or story. And in that way, “Martha Marcy May Marlene” is quite an accomplishment from any filmmaker due to its sophisticated storytelling, ambiguous nature and riveting aftermath.
When we first meet Martha, she is escaping from this cult during the dim early morning of a grim upstate New York day. As an audience, we get glimpses of the life of this would-be family, complete with dinner preparation and consumption and the haunting imagery of their group sleep. Martha, given the pseudonym Marcy May by the cult leader Patrick, sneaks off into a full forest to emerge on the other side into a small nearby town. She stops to eat, only to be confronted by one of Patrick’s henchmen, Watts (Brady Corbet). He sits with her and finishes her french fries and asks her the question “why,” a question so simple with an answer so complicated. We can’t help but think why as well throughout the whole film. We later find Martha making a phone call to her estranged older sister, Lucy (Sarah Paulson) and her newlywed husband, Ted (Hugh Dancy). Martha isn’t sure if she wants to go back to her real family but also feels she has no other place to go. We don’t get a reason why she’s escaping or why her family life was so awful that she felt a need to leave in the first place but we see it in her eyes and in the way she shakes, that it’s not an easy thing to do but what other option does she have.
From this point on in the film, the chronology jumps back and forth between Martha’s life with the cult and her reunited life with her sister. Durkin, smartly constructs these scenes to mirror her two lives together, her life as Martha and her life as Marcy May, which leads the audience to put them together. But when viewing these scenes, along with the pacing and what is being conveyed, it’s almost telling to extrapolate that maybe the chronology is even more ambiguous then what would first appear. If this whole film is a puzzle then any way to put it together would have to fit. The editing and pacing of this film is almost rhythmic, being more poetic than a narrative.
Martha’s new (or maybe not) home life with her older sister is off putting to everyone involved. Lucy is trying to re-connect with her sister without being too intrusive but overcompensates and ends up mothering her to the point distance and her husband Ted is trying to relate with youth and tries to play the role of involvement as a new entry into this family. But for all their shortcomings, Martha, Lucy and Ted simply don’t understand each other and begin to alienate each other by being vicious and verbally brutal to each other. Durkin sets up these scenes to achieve a certain level of passive-aggressive confrontation until it boils over in to a brazen climax. And by the end of which, we get a more clear idea of who these character are and what trauma (both emotional and physical) does to an individual.
Marcy May on the other hand isn’t as ambiguous with her actions. What happens from the start with first entering this cult is simply engaging to watch. When Marcy May first meets Patrick, we get this looming feeling that Patrick is an evil man. We get the impression that he preys on the lost and the weak-minded to achieve his sexual and monetary desires. The cult runs a self-sustaining farm with a group of young men and women working together to make the farm work. They eat together, the men before the women, they play together and participate in group sex. Think of this as a screwed up Pleasure Island in the guise of a family life. When their money runs out, the group go out into well-to-do neighborhoods, break into large houses and steal what they can. But when one of this outings turn violent, Marcy May rethinks her involvement in her new family. They recruit very young girls and we see the process of them getting integrated into this new family. First from the perspective of Martha, who becomes Marcy May and then learns to find her role in her new family. Then with Sarah (Julia Garner), a 14 year-old runaway, introduced to the family by Watts and taught to find her role in it by Marcy May. In this way, Marcy May is now seen as a leader and a teacher among her new family. A title that will later haunt her. This really completes Martha’s transformation into Marcy May, which leads her to “setting up” the eventual rape of Sarah by Patrick, in an indelible ritual that every young girl must go through to become part of this Jonestown-esque cult.
What an audience should takeaway from this film, in terms of performance, are that of Elisabeth Olsen and John Hawkes. Olsen’s (somewhat) duel role bring so much sympathy and pathos that it’s almost palpable. Going through the intensity of re-learning how to live in the real world and then having that education stripped away to the bewilderment of the audience is integral to this film success. In some ways, we are put into the roles of Lucy and Ted, wanting to help but helpless to understand how. I’m not sure which is more crippling but in the end it doesn’t matter, the damage is done. John Hawkes as Patrick is equally captivating. Patrick is a grotesque human being feeding off the weakness of others for his own gain and John Hawkes envelops every bit of this despicable man on the screen, therefore it is highly effective.
The question of the name Marlene comes into light when character’s take on another persona. This adds another layer of fantasy, disguise and psychology. When recruiting a new member of this cult, everyone in it has to answer the only phone on the grounds as either Mark (male) or Marlene (female), this give Martha’s character another level of delusion, completing the promise of that the title suggest. A film more about process and theme than the characters within. After all, there is no emotional or narrative arc happening with Martha, giving the impression that themes and tones are more important, which fits the film’s aesthetic. Sean Durkin seems to be channeling Austrian filmmaker, Götz Spielmann in this respect, especially in terms of his 2008 film, “Revanche,” which also explores notions of the psychology and methods of traumatized people dealing with every day life.
The approach of “Martha Marcy May Marlene” also seems to be somewhat a more European approach to filmmaking. After all, it’s a film that slowly builds to an ambiguous conclusion, making it more interesting to talk about and not as conclusive as most American films. It’s an impressive piece of work from a first time filmmaker and actress in Elizabeth Olsen, which shows a lot of trust between the two collaborators. It’s fascinating to see the depths in which Olsen goes to create and bring to life the characters of Martha, Marcy May and Marlene.
For all the technical aspects of this film, in regards to acting and direction, “Martha Marcy May Marlene” has a lot of heart behind it. I find it difficult not to watch this film and not feel anything for these characters, moments and situations. It gives a more clear impression of what makes this film not only work but work so well, is the combination of the puzzle to the human condition. And in this way, it’s more important not to understand but to sympathize.
“Martha Marcy May Marlene” opens on Oct 21th in a limited release. It screens at the New York Film Festival on Oct 11th and Oct 13th.
Technical: A-
Acting: A
Story: A-
Overall: A-
by @Rudie_Obias
