This is a peculiar film indeed—that doesn't mean it's bad. It just means it's quite different from most films you might see. Most unusual is the fact that we get no "backstory" for the main story. The film opens with Martha/Marcy May/Marlene (Elizabeth Olsen in a tortured yet incredibly nuanced performance) escaping a cult in upstate New York to reunite with her estranged sister and her sister's husband. Flashbacks fill us in on what happened to Martha/Marcy May/Marlene while she was a cult member, yet we never learn how or why she became a member of the cult or why she stayed as long as she did.
The present action—Martha/Marcy May/Marlene's awkward attempts to reconnect with her family despite what her brother-in-law characterizes as her "insane" behavior—focuses mainly on what can only be described as the post-traumatic stress that Martha/Marcy May/Marlene is incapable of dealing with. Her time in the cult has rendered her inert and paranoid, and the film ends as abruptly as it began, with a bizarre traffic incident, the meaning of which seems to fade into oblivion along with Martha/Marcy May/Marlene's future.
Fans of quirky, introspective, and artsy films will have a lot to chew on after watching this one. If it's action or conventional storytelling you want, best look elsewhere.
The present action—Martha/Marcy May/Marlene's awkward attempts to reconnect with her family despite what her brother-in-law characterizes as her "insane" behavior—focuses mainly on what can only be described as the post-traumatic stress that Martha/Marcy May/Marlene is incapable of dealing with. Her time in the cult has rendered her inert and paranoid, and the film ends as abruptly as it began, with a bizarre traffic incident, the meaning of which seems to fade into oblivion along with Martha/Marcy May/Marlene's future.
Fans of quirky, introspective, and artsy films will have a lot to chew on after watching this one. If it's action or conventional storytelling you want, best look elsewhere.