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Comments 1 - 15 of 22

rtrench's avatar

rtrench

Eerily reminiscent of A Woman Under the Influence, where the audience sees into the psyche of the main character, and through their eyes develops the world experienced in the film. The mood conveyed throughout suggests there's something more to what's going on, generating the intangible conflict which is Martha/Marcy May's persona. I feel like some people will feel like the rug was swept right from under them seeing the film, but through reflection I've already started to warmly receive the film. It's definitely among the arthouse set of 2011 films like Tree of Life and Another Earth, and will likely be in the Oscar running in the independent sect. I liked Elisabeth Olsen and John Hawkes in their roles.
Recommended. 4/5
12 years 5 months ago
ChrisReynolds's avatar

ChrisReynolds

Very good film. spoiler
11 years 6 months ago
the3rdman's avatar

the3rdman

Had a spare but unsettling style that sometimes reminded me of Badlands. Its ambiguity worked for me because it reflected Martha's fractured self and sense of the past.
11 years 6 months ago
anne_f_'s avatar

anne_f_

Good film, spoiler
11 years 9 months ago
Neville's avatar

Neville

Good comment, rtrench.

Two themes stood out for me: first, the sinister Manson-Jonestown dimension to a set of decayed 60s mantras, like "There are other ways of living" and "Just exist". With a Deliverance or Winter's Bone element as well.

And the second is the ambiguous line between real, mind warping terror and paranoid schizophrenia.

A terrific film, although one I'd hesitate to make a favorite.
11 years 11 months ago
phoenixrising's avatar

phoenixrising

I thought this film was amazing, it really blew me away.
12 years 1 month ago
sherlocksonlywoman's avatar

sherlocksonlywoman

It kind of reminded me of The Ballad of Jack and Rose. It would've been better if there had been more focus on commune life. A lot of it was so vague that it didn't really have any impact. I did like the film though.
10 years 7 months ago
Cronos's avatar

Cronos

Wasn't expecting to like it but the great performances (especially from Olsen!) really drew me in. I really don't get the hate/confusion regarding the ending.
12 years 1 month ago
CSSCHNEIDER's avatar

CSSCHNEIDER

Amazing. Totally engrossing and terrifying. John Hawks may be my new favorite actor. He is frighteningly great. Can't believe the Academy has overlooked him this year.
12 years 1 month ago
dombrewer's avatar

dombrewer

Really great performances by Olsen and Hawkes and a consistently unsettling atmosphere make for a excellent film- scarily plausible and extremely well made.
12 years 1 month ago
ucuruju's avatar

ucuruju

they creepy crawling. me? i'm snoring.
2 years ago
Ebbywebby's avatar

Ebbywebby

This is the best Sofia Coppola film I've seen. Probably because she didn't make it.
4 years ago
Slylingual24's avatar

Slylingual24

Beautifully shot, well crafted and acted, but an otherwise vacuous film.
6 years 7 months ago
BeasleyOnFilm's avatar

BeasleyOnFilm

I really liked it, mostly. Olsen is very good indeed, the supporting cast are excellent and I liked how we are drip-fed details of Martha's life in the cult as we go along.

My only issue is that it veers towards being a bit too ambiguous at times.
11 years 10 months ago
RuhBuhJuh's avatar

RuhBuhJuh

Complete let down. Hated it. I was really excited to watch it as well, after my favourite reviewer Mark Kermode said just don't read anything about it, just watch it. I did just watch it and it was artsy bollocks as far as I'm concerned. I like ambiguity in films, but 105 minutes of ambiguty? Please.
12 years ago

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