Martha Marcy May Marlene
Martha Marcy May Marlene Image
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Metascore
76 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 38 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 95 Ratings

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  • Summary: "Martha Marcy May Marlene" is a powerful psychological thriller starring Elizabeth Olsen as Martha, a young woman rapidly unraveling amidst her attempt to reclaim a normal life after fleeing from a cult and its charismatic leader. Seeking help from her estranged older sister Lucy and brother-in-law, Martha is unable and unwilling to reveal the truth about her disappearance. When her memories trigger a chilling paranoia that her former cult could still be pursuing her, the line between Martha's reality and delusion begins to blur. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)


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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 38
  3. Negative: 2 out of 38
  1. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    Oct 27, 2011
    100
    Moves from its protagonist's dream state to her memories to her waking present in imperceptible shifts - the effect is disorienting, at first, but ingenious.
  2. Empire
    Reviewed by: Ian Freer
    Jan 30, 2012
    80
    Rough around the edges and too ambiguous for some tastes, this is grim but clever, insidiously creepy and affecting. And in Olsen and Durkin, it marks the arrival of two exciting talents to watch. It still should be called Mental Sex Cult.
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    Oct 20, 2011
    50
    Patrick periodically criticizes his disciples, including Martha, for failing to be open enough with him, and that is also a shortcoming of Martha Marcy May Marlene, which is a bit too coy, too clever and too diffident to believe in.
  4. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Jaime N. Christley
    Oct 11, 2011
    38
    The film seems almost to have been produced spontaneously, by gears of a larger system as they mesh together right this instant, culled from the ether with the words "Customers Who Also Liked Dogtooth and Winter's Bone Liked This…"

See all 38 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 36
  3. Negative: 6 out of 36
  1. LaGuerta
    10
    A year has past since I first watched this film and with the exception of one or two, not a film has come close. Second to none storytelling and a powerful yet unpretentious performance by Olsen. Outrageously overlooked.… Expand
  2. Andys_Reviews
    8
    It
  3. JollyG87
    5
    While this is getting rave reviews, I personally had a miserable time with "Martha Marcy May Marlene." First of all, in any movie the characters need to go through some kind of transformation so we can understand what they're going through. In a way, Martha does change. There are a series of flashbacks that show her happy and carefree as she settles into the cult of a sex crazed looney. Then we see her psychologically damaged after she's escaped and living with her sister. But the movie establishes these two sides of Martha early on and very little is done in the end to give us a complete picture of who Martha is as a person. I also didn't care too much for the outcome of her character. While Elizabeth Olsen gives a knockout debut performance, I found her character to be very self-centered and foolish. First, she was stupid to have joined the cult and believe all of the stupid babble the leader spewed on her. Then she refuses to even hint at what happened to her with her sister. I understand that a person would have a hard time opening up about traumatic events, but they at least need to understand that she's been through some messed up times. She never lets them know. It becomes very frustrating to deal with. Then to top it all off, the movie ends at a random point. I felt like I went through enough trouble in this film to get some kind of conclusion, but the movie leaves us with none. I saw a lot of similarities between "Martha Marcy May Marlene" and "Take Shelter," but the biggest differences for me were the characters and execution. The characters in "Take Shelter" were compelling enough that it could end on a cliffhanger and get away with it. The characters in " Martha" on the other hand, were rather unlikable. Also, the ending is beautifully executed in "Take Shelter," while in "Marcy" the movie ends like the projectionist forgot to put on the last reel.… Expand
  4. CitizenCharlie
    3
    Martha Marcy May Marlene continuously cuts back and forth between past and present. However, the audience could have used a lot more past and a bit more present to help understand more about Martha (Elizabeth Olsen). The past shows Marthaâ… Expand

See all 36 User Reviews

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