Martha Marcy May Marlene

United States 2011, 101 mins
Director: Sean Durkin
Starring: John Hawkes, Elizabeth Olsen, Hugh Dancy, Brady Corbet, Sarah Paulson

Synopsis

A palette of coniferous greens and dewy greys sets a suitably existential tone in first-time director Durkin's striking psychological drama. In the woods of upstate New York we meet a young woman - distressed, clothes dirt-smeared, hair limp.

For two years, she has been living in an isolated commune led by the charismatic Patrick (Hawkes). But as this dream existence becomes a nightmare, she flees to find a payphone, where she calls her estranged sister (Paulson) - the only person she can turn to for help. A pattern of disturbing flashbacks and distorted self-reflection emerges as Martha (Olsen) proceeds to piece together her fragmented psyche in the sanctuary of her sister’s home. But it’s not long before her volatile and erratic behaviour causes old scars to reopen.