OK - this movie blew me away! The Descendants may have suffered in comparison because I saw them back-to-back.
This was written and directed by Sean Durkin, and it's his first feature length film. How does someone get this assured out of the gate? This movie treads the line between thriller and psychological drama very, very well. The tension mounts and your attention is riveted - I think he'll get a screenplay nomination. I hope he gets a best picture nomination.
Martha, played by an amazing Elizabeth Olsen, is in a cult when we meet her. She is planning her escape, but we don't realize it until we watch her run, which is a stressful way to start a movie. She calls her sister, who hasn't heard from her in two years, and who comes immediately to get her.
Martha seems to be about 20 when she runs from the cult, but it's hard to say. She looks very young, but her behavior is off. She swims naked when it is not appropriate, she sleeps all the time, she cleans and gardens like a pro. And she gets more and more odd. Her behavior and conversation lead her sister and brother-in-law to wonder about what happened to her, and their discomfort grows. They ask her where she was, but Martha isn't talking.
In flashbacks we see her arriving at the cult, being indoctrinated, having her name changed to Marcy May. Each scene at the cult and with her sister gets steadily more upsetting as the movie progresses. And the ending is as it should be. Which is very satisfying.
Elizabeth Olsen will probably get a nomination for Best Actress. She won't win, because dues have to be paid (think Jennifer Lawrence last year in Winter's Bone). John Hawkes, as the cult leader, should get nominated for Best Supporting Actor again for this one. Hopefully this year he'll win.
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