www.fgks.org   »   [go: up one dir, main page]

6.9/10
39,533
185 user 341 critic

Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)

Trailer
2:31 | Trailer

Watch Now

From $2.99 on Amazon Video

Haunted by painful memories and increasing paranoia, a damaged woman struggles to re-assimilate with her family after fleeing an abusive cult.

Director:

Writer:

Reviews
Popularity
3,117 ( 472)
22 wins & 68 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Short
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

A young woman embarks on a road trip with her boyfriend to a place he promises will be beautiful and peaceful. But a series of strange events occur on their journey, and it becomes clear ... See full summary »

Director: Sean Durkin
Stars: Brady Corbet, Stefanie Estes, Alexia Rasmussen
Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

Kevin's mother struggles to love her strange child, despite the increasingly vicious things he says and does as he grows up. But Kevin is just getting started, and his final act will be beyond anything anyone imagined.

Director: Lynne Ramsay
Stars: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6/10 X  

Two New York City girls make a pact to lose their virginity during their first summer out of high school. When they both fall for the same street artist, the friends find their connection tested for the first time.

Director: Naomi Foner
Stars: Dakota Fanning, Elizabeth Olsen, Sterling Jones
Silent House (2011)
Adventure | Horror | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.3/10 X  

A girl is trapped inside her family's lakeside retreat and becomes unable to contact the outside world as supernatural forces haunt the house with mysterious energy and consequences.

Directors: Chris Kentis, Laura Lau
Stars: Elizabeth Olsen, Adam Trese, Eric Sheffer Stevens
Liberal Arts (2012)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

When 30-something Jesse returns to his alma mater for a professor's retirement party, he falls for Zibby, a college student, and is faced with a powerful attraction that springs up between them.

Director: Josh Radnor
Stars: Josh Radnor, Elizabeth Olsen, Zac Efron
Take Shelter (2011)
Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself.

Director: Jeff Nichols
Stars: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham
Simon Killer (2012)
Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.2/10 X  

A recent college graduate flees to Paris after a break-up, where his involvement with a prostitute begins to reveal a potentially dark recent past.

Director: Antonio Campos
Stars: Brady Corbet, Mati Diop, Lila Salet
Shame (2011)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

In New York City, Brandon's carefully cultivated private life -- which allows him to indulge his sexual addiction -- is disrupted when his sister arrives unannounced for an indefinite stay.

Director: Steve McQueen
Stars: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale
Young Adult (2011)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  

Soon after her divorce, a fiction writer returns to her home in small-town Minnesota, looking to rekindle a romance with her ex-boyfriend, who is now happily married and has a newborn daughter.

Director: Jason Reitman
Stars: Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, Patton Oswalt
Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

Two documentary filmmakers attempt to penetrate a cult who worships a woman who claims to be from the future.

Director: Zal Batmanglij
Stars: Christopher Denham, Nicole Vicius, Brit Marling
Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

A group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents.

Director: Sofia Coppola
Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett, James Woods
Thirteen (2003)
Biography | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

A thirteen-year-old girl's relationship with her mother is put to the test as she discovers drugs, sex, and petty crime in the company of her cool but troubled best friend.

Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Stars: Evan Rachel Wood, Holly Hunter, Nikki Reed
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Max
...
Watts
...
Ted
...
Katie
...
Sarah
...
...
Zoe
...
...
Bartender (as Adam Thompson)
...
Man in Home #2
...
Cult Member
Louisa Braden Johnson ...
Cult Member
...
Cult Member
...
Man in Home #1
Edit

Storyline

Martha has run away from an abusive hippie-like cult where she was living as Marcy May for two years. She turns to her sister and brother-in-law who take her in and want to help her. The problem is Martha is having a hard time separating dreams from reality and when haunting memories of her past keep resurfacing, she may need more help than anyone is able to give her. Written by napierslogs

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Genres:

Drama | Thriller

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing violent and sexual content, nudity and language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Official Sites:

| |  »

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

21 December 2011 (Sweden)  »

Also Known As:

La fuga di Martha  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$137,651 (USA) (21 October 2011)

Gross:

$2,981,638 (USA) (3 February 2012)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

|

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Elizabeth Olsen and Sarah Paulson invented together some background for the sisters' relationship. So every scene when they talked about their past, although it's vague on the script and for the viewer, Olsen and Paulson knew exactly what Martha and Lucy are talking about. See more »

Goofs

When Marcy/Martha wakes up after freaking out at her sister's party, she is wearing heavy, perfectly applied makeup. Since she had previously had an emotional breakdown, then slept, this is unlikely. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Watts: [as Martha runs away] Marcy! Marcy May! Where ya goin'?
See more »

Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #2.24 (2011) See more »

Soundtracks

Ba Bop Bop Bop
Written by Brady Corbet and Christopher Abbott
Performed by Brady Corbet and Christopher Abbott
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Tons of potential
3 June 2012 | by (Israel) – See all my reviews

I'm tempted to give Martha Marcy May Marlene a higher rating than it deserves for what it could have been, not for what it is. It boasts two young talents who are showing tons of potential - director Sean Durkin and lead actress Elizabeth Olsen; Olsen's performance is subtle and effective, and Durkin's directorial work creates a strong sense of atmosphere, which is aided by the superb cinematography of Jody Lee Lipes (who also had very little prior experience in feature length films). It's a film that looks and sounds great, but unfortunately it doesn't mesh into a satisfying experience.

It's probably because there's so much potential and so much to explore, and so little of it is actually brought to fruition, that I left the film with a bitter taste of a missed opportunity. The cult, for example, is fascinating, seductive and nightmarish, and John Hawkes delivers outstandingly, but on closer inspection it looks like a perfectly generic hippie cult of the classic Manson prototype, and we get no hints of what their philosophy actually is, or about the personalities of any of the members. The same goes for the relationship between Martha, her sister and her brother in law, and most of all the ending, which suggests some very interesting subjects which the rest of the movie doesn't really explore.

To be clear: I don't object to open endings or films that leave a lot of information out to allow viewer interpretation, but in this case I felt it was done as a cover up for lack of decision on Durkin's part - a flawed script that doesn't really feel complete. I'll definitely check out his work in the future, but this film isn't quite there yet.


26 of 41 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Were there two different endings filmed? JeopardyLeyton
I don't like these endings because ... martasavila
Tired of ambiguous endings Thrillho-5
Is Martha retarded? jimparrett
The obvious question that is never asked dazfiddy
He only has boys? bebesushii
Discuss Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?