Martha Marcy May Marlene Maude Ms Mrs Miss

If you’re a regular reader you’ll know I’m not a big fan of Oscar movies, not at all and so it was with some trepidation that I watched this movie.

By the end, actually before then, I felt justified. This is a god awful movie. The only thing I can say that is positive about this movie is the performance of Elizabeth Olsen, though to single her out doesn’t really do the rest of the actors and actresses justice, most put in a good performance.

The problem with this movie is, well were do I begin. The dialogue is clunky, the story is virtually non-existent, characterisation is virtually non-existent, back-story IS non-existent as is the ending, seriously, don’t give me this crap about ‘you need to think about the ending for yourself’! F**k off! It’s a complete and total cop-out, nothing more, nothing less, couldn’t think of ending? Why bother writing the script then?

The story, what there is, revolves around Martha (Olsen) who, for reasons unknown, enters what has to be the worst cult ever and the most dull.

She meanders around it for a while, as does the film, and then escapes. Well I say escapes, she leaves, is found by one of the members of the cult who for completely unknown reasons decides to let her leave instead of dragging her back to the cult.

She winds up with her estranged sister Lucy (Sarah Polsen) and husband Ted (Hugh Dancy) who don’t really ask her where she’s been for the last two years, just continuously ask her why she’s so odd, and shout at her a lot.

Apparently Martha is ‘acting odd’ when she’s with her sister, though not really. Other than entering the bedroom when her sister and husband are having sex (Rain Man style) she doesn’t really do anything odd. And even if she was doing stuff odd, you are just left wondering why her sister and her husband don’t do anything about it.

I’m glad Elizabeth Olsen is getting some respect for her performance as it is good, particularly when the rest of the movie is so bad, but John Hawkes as the leader of the cult is also good, for the seemingly small part he has.

In a nutshell, if you like films that do nothing much, have very little story or characterisation then this is the movie for you!