Martha Marcy May Marlene. So maybe I should have paid more attention while watching this movie, because I obviously missed out on something. We have Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) who is given a nickname Marcy May by cult leader Patrick (John Hawkes), but where did the Marlene come into play?
The movie starts with Martha at cult's compound. She soon escapes to her family: her sister, Lucy (Sarah Paulson), and brother-in-law, Ted (Hugh Dancy). Her time with the cult causes a type of post traumatic stress disorder. She fears that Patrick will go searching for her and she finds it hard to re-integrate into normal society. Through flash-backs we find that her time at the cult initially started with sexual brainwashing but quickly spiraled into criminal behavior.
I am up in the air with this movie. I loved the pacing of the movie, but some things just got me irritated. For example, though her sister and brother-in-law in my mind want to help Martha (yes, they get frustrated, but wouldn't anyone get frustrated with the erratic behavior of a loved one), they for some reason seem hesitant to ask her deeper questions about her two year disappearance. I don't even think they realize that she was in a cult for two years. They seem to just accept the fact that she was in a bad relationship. Of course, maybe when you haven't seen someone for two years, you're hesitant to ask the deeper questions.
Also, I didn't pay close enough attention to when the name Marlene came into play. Maybe if I did the movie would make more sense. Somehow I suspect the last few scenes would have played out better. I'll have to catch this movie on the Sundance channel some day and re-review this movie.
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