Martha Marcy May Marlene

R

Released Oct 21, 2011

1 hr. 41 min.

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

List

90%

210 Reviews

Tomatometer

71%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

After several years of living with a cult, Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) finally escapes and calls her estranged sister, Lucy (Sarah Paulson), for help. Martha finds herself at the quiet Connecticut home Lucy shares with her new husband, Ted (Hugh Dancy), but the memories of what she experienced in the cult make peace hard to find. As flashbacks continue to torment her, Martha fails to shake a terrible sense of dread, especially in regard to the cult's manipulative leader (John Hawkes).

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Critics Consensus

Led by a mesmerizing debut performance from Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene is a distinctive, haunting psychological drama.

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Gareth v

This haunting psycho-drama about someone's sense of belonging, and the psychological trauma inflicted within cults, stands out due to the performances of Hawkes & Olsen. A fine feature length debut as director for Sean Durkin.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/03/24

Full Review

Erlinda R

"Martha Marcy May Marlene" most monotonous movie making me mad missing mispent minutes !!!!!!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/13/24

Full Review

Wayne K

According to prominent deprogrammer Rick Alan Ross, Martha Marcy May Marlene is the film which most accurately portrays real world cults and the psychological effects they have on their members, and this is what attracted me to the story. We often sees cult movies sensationalising and playing up how abusive they are, but here much of it is done subtly, even quietly, and it actually make it a lot more affecting. The lead, played by Olsen in her big screen debut, is made to feel like part of a family, treated kindly and given encouragement. You can pick out all the tactics cults use to draw in and brainwash their followers, and while you can see moments of doubt in her eyes, she is clearly still one of the family, for lack of a better term. I liked how her time during and after her cult life is spliced together, allowing us to see how the events of the past 2 years are shaping her current state of mind. It doesn't have her acting hysterically or screaming at everybody or running round the house in a panic. She's shown having trouble in social situations, not understanding manners and etiquette and rebelling when her beliefs are being contradicted. None of us like the idea of being manipulated, especially by those who claim to be our friends or family, and the notion that it can be done so easily and so insidiously is what makes the story and its concept so genuinely unsettling, and its so convincing largely because Olsen sells it so well. If you have any interest in cults and the psychology behind them, then Martha Marcy May Marlene is a film that can fairly be called essential viewing.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/22/23

Full Review

Thomas M

The best filmmaking debut ever from Sean Durkin!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/26/22

Full Review

isla s

This is really quite a dark and murky film - its sombre and unsettling. There are many flashbacks shown, which give you an idea as to what happened to Martha while she was a member of the cult. There are plenty of things which aren't clarified, so as a viewer we have to come to our own conclusions about certain things. Its both dark in terms of tone and also lighting wise at times. There's a juxtaposition present, with scenes showing Martha in the present day, with reaquainted parents and friends, trying to act normal again, while we know there were some dark things she had to escape from, trauma she's forced to keep. I found it quite frustrating watching the parents struggle to deal with their daughters new personality. Its a sobering watch, a well made film that I'd recommend, if your ok with it being a grim film.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Watched the entire movie, dragged, repetitive. The ending was annoying and unfinished . Like the director just walked off set and forgot to come back .

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

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Sean Durkin

Director

Elizabeth Olsen

Martha

Sarah Paulson

Lucy

John Hawkes

Patrick

Hugh Dancy

Ted

Brady Corbet

Watts

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Christy Lemire

Associated Press

In quiet, intimate ways, it is one of the most startling, haunting films you'll see all year.

Mar 18, 2014

Full Review

Peter Rainer

Christian Science Monitor

Durkin intersperses the present-day scenes with increasingly revelatory flashbacks from Martha's two years in the cult.

Rated: B

Mar 18, 2014

Full Review

Violet Lucca

Film Comment Magazine

With a diegesis mapped along the mental contours of its protagonist, Martha Marcy May Marlene harkens back to Pasolini's notion of the cinema of poetry--and achieves it beautifully.

Jun 28, 2013

Full Review

Joe Lipsett

Anatomy of a Scream Podcast Network

Elizabeth Olsen stuns in her feature debut in a film that perfectly embodies PTSD. While the murder sequence doesn't fully work, the way Durkin shifts between timelines and the "before they were famous" cast makes this a must-see

Rated: 4.5/5

Jan 11, 2024

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

The acting is exceptional all around, as is the minimalist score.

Rated: 6/10

Nov 30, 2020

Full Review

Tom Meek

Cambridge Day

John Hawkes is again creepy and compelling here as the iron-handed cult leader, and Elizabeth Olsen gives a breakout turn as the title character - a new recruit with eyes looking back to the outside world.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 25, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

After several years of living with a cult, Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) finally escapes and calls her estranged sister, Lucy (Sarah Paulson), for help. Martha finds herself at the quiet Connecticut home Lucy shares with her new husband, Ted (Hugh Dancy), but the memories of what she experienced in the cult make peace hard to find. As flashbacks continue to torment her, Martha fails to shake a terrible sense of dread, especially in regard to the cult's manipulative leader (John Hawkes).

Director: Sean Durkin
Executive Producer: Ted Hope, Matt Palmieri, Saemi Kim, Saerom Kim, Alexander Schepsman
Screenwriter: Sean Durkin
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Production Co: Fox Searchlight
Rating: R (Disturbing Violent Content|Disturbing Sexual Content|Language|Nudity)
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 21, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.0M

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