'Martha Marcy May Marlene' A Review

MMMM is about a girl in a cult. Martha escapes at the beginning and stays with her sister to recover. The movie is a series of flashbacks to her time with the cult from the present. I don't know why this movie was made. It's not entertaining or enjoyable to watch. The acting is superb but the subject matter is virtually unwatchable. The cult life is insidiously manipulative and disturbing. Martha's sister is remarkably obtuse. Elizabeth Olson gives an amazing performance but I don't know why. The movie doesn't tell a new story or say anything. The film is simply presented, this is.

Other than the subject matter I had two other issues with the film. I didn't believe that Martha would be brainwashed and indoctrinated into the cult as deeply as she was within two years. I didn't believe she would be so closed off about it while living with her sister. She doesn't mention or acknowledge her time there in anyway. She acts very strangely and it takes a nervous breakdown for her sister to get her psychiatric help. Her sister would have known way earlier that something was wrong psychology with her sister. There's a scene where Martha climbs into bed with her sister while she's having sex with her husband. Duh.

The ending, much like the entire film, says nothing. Leaves us with nothing. No explanation. No reason. No hope.

Don't See It.