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MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENEMovie Reviews
Dramatic thriller about a young woman rapidly unraveling as she attempts to reclaim a normal life after fleeing from a cult and its charismatic leader. Cast:Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, John Hawkes, Hugh DancyDirector:T. Sean DurkinRelease Date:October 21, 2011DVD Release:February 21, 2012From:Fox SearchlightRating:RLength:1 hr. 41 min.
FEBRUARY 21, 2012
Martha Marcy May Marlene, Outstanding Reviews National
Martha Marcy May Marlene played in national release to outstanding reviews. • Patrick Z. McGavin wrote for Cinema 24/7, "...a formally audacious and visually sophisticated debut from the gifted young filmmaker Sean Durkin.... a disquieting and frightening portrait of surrender and coercion." • And Moira Macdonald wrote in the Seattle Times, "...gets under your skin and burrows there..." More Reviews Below...
Martha Marcy May Marlene Positive Reviews (50 Reviews, reviews below)
Alynda Wheat, People: OUTSTANDING(cg) "The younger sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley shows breathtaking range... the beauty of Elizabeth Olsen's star-making performance is inarguable."(See all of Alynda Wheat's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 144 words, 10/20/11
Mary Pols, Time: OUTSTANDING "...there's a 'holy smokes!' quality to Elizabeth Olsen's performance that evokes the exciting contradictions of early Kate Winslet... 'A star is born.' "(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 494 words, 10/21/11
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Sean Durkin is an exciting filmmaker to watch, having made a movie about a tawdry, tabloid-ready topic without injecting an ounce of sensationalism."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 567 words, 10/20/11
Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...filled with dread, including the unsettling (if abrupt) conclusion. In a movie about lost identity, Elizabeth Olsen has found hers as an acting force."(See all of Mara Reinstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 87 words, 10/20/11
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: EXCELLENT(cg) "...leaves a viewer hanging, quite literally, lost in an enveloping fog of mood without resolution. Olsen, meanwhile, definitely marks her arrival."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 702 words, 10/21/11
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Olsen is an actress of uncommon subtlety and feeling. It's a sensational performance in a gripping psychological thriller, from gifted first-time writer-director Sean Durkin..."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 320 words, 10/28/11
Claudia Puig, USA Today: VERY GOOD(cg) "A naturalistic and moody meditation on identity, youthful idealism and the yearning for family... nothing is more terrifying than fear itself."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 416 words, 10/21/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a good film, ambitious and effective, introducing a gifted young actress and a director whose work I'll anticipate."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 975 words, 10/28/11
Kat Murphy, MSN Movies: EXCELLENT(cg) "...pulses with cumulative dread, teasing our nerve endings with scrabbling spider-feet of unease... among the best films of 2011."(See all of Kat Murphy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 792 words, 10/18/11
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...an impressive piece of work without achieving quite the emotional impact it intends.... the movie's structure begins to feel evasive rather than probing."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 804 words, 10/21/11
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: EXCELLENT(cg) "For most of her life, Elizabeth Olsen has been known, if at all, as the younger sibling of two very famous twin sisters. As of today, that's going to change."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 234 words, 10/21/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...like life itself, 'Martha Marcy May Marlene' is a film of rough edges and no easy answers, nearly perfect in its imperfection."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 958 words, 10/21/11
Kyle Smith, New York Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...carries great allegorical weight... echoes the Manson Family, the long list of failed utopian communes that culminated in Bolshevism and the one-child policy in China..."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 716 words, 10/21/11
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...supple and unnerving.... Durkin immerses the viewer in a fluid state of psychological dissolution, keeping us very close to one woman's experience in a cult..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 647 words, 10/28/11
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Olsen's performance earns it.... [but] the non-ending turns the whole movie into an elaborate tease, too creepy to dismiss, too shallow to justify its 'ambiguities.' "(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 253 words, 10/17/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a good film, ambitious and effective, introducing a gifted young actress and a director whose work I'll anticipate."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 975 words, 10/28/11
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "...a deft, old-school psychological thriller (or perhaps horror film) that relies mainly on the power of suggestion and memories of hippie cult crazies."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 638 words, 10/19/11
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...to say the film is simply about cults is to miss the subtle alchemy wrought by writer/director Sean Durkin in this brilliant debut feature... he gets us wondering..."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 710 words, 10/28/11
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "Durkin makes a filmmaking debut every bit as compelling and assured as his leading lady.... sneaks up on viewers with a barely perceptible sense of oncoming dread."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 479 words, 10/28/11
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...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."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 426 words, 10/28/11
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Olsen makes the journey through all her moods and guises a mesmerizing and chilling experience and turns a cryptic film into an unforgettable one."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 402 words, 11/11/11
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "...compulsively watchable... a psychological thriller camouflaged as an Ingmar Bergman-style country-house drama."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 448 words, 11/04/11
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Durkin's confidence is amazing... his patience, doling out bits and pieces of information slowly, builds tension while giving us what we need when we need it."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 649 words, 11/04/11
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD(cg) "...we spend 101 minutes trying to get into the head of a woman who's trying her hardest to keep us out.... The film has its gimmicky aspects but Olsen is haunting..."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 738 words, 10/28/11
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Elizabeth Olsen is always in control.... So is John Hawkes... It's the story itself that doesn't have enough going for it, and so resorts to flashy style..."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 406 words, 10/21/11
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: POOR(cg) "...disturbing and yet inert.... two long hours of murky photography and slow-motion storytelling, in which the audience is always 10 scenes ahead of the action."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 257 words, 10/28/11
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...gets under your skin and burrows there... This young woman can run but, right up to the film's enigmatic final shot, she can't find anywhere to hide."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 378 words, 10/28/11
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...gradually places us inside the mind of a woman who just might be insane... the movie traps us there in perpetuity, refusing to provide the viewer with a way out."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 578 words, 10/21/11
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (10 Reviews)
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "...a deft, old-school psychological thriller (or perhaps horror film) that relies mainly on the power of suggestion and memories of hippie cult crazies."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 638 words, 10/19/11
Katey Rich, Cinema Blend: EXCELLENT(cg) "See it for Elizabeth Olsen's breakthrough performance and Sean Durkin's keen cinematic eye, and be surprised by how a movie this delicate and small can linger."(See all of Katey Rich's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 614 words, 10/19/11
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...coldly confident, insidiously haunting... personal identity can be a fragile thing. Especially when you're not much interested in hanging onto it in the first place."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 550 words, 10/27/11
Mike D'Angelo, AV Club: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...another uncommonly intelligent provocation from the guys at Borderline Films... one of the best films at Sundance; it's the best I've seen at Cannes as well."(See all of Mike D'Angelo's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 319 words, 05/16/11
Jaime N. Christley, Slant: WEAK(cg) "...seems almost to have been produced spontaneously... culled from the ether with the words 'Customers Who Also Liked 'Dogtooth' and 'Winter's Bone' Liked This'..."(See all of Jaime N. Christley's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 677 words, 10/10/11
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...it's the rarity of what 'Martha' attempts -- and succeeds wildly at -- that makes it so enormously satisfying, if disconcerting.... There is no easy rescue here."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,143 words, 11/08/11
HIGHBROW PRESS (6 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...an impressive piece of work without achieving quite the emotional impact it intends.... the movie's structure begins to feel evasive rather than probing."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 804 words, 10/21/11
Ella Taylor, NPR: GOOD "...less a film of ideas than an adroit use of film language and performance to track the breakdown of a sense of self that may have been wobbly to start with."(See all of Ella Taylor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 630 words, 10/20/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...like life itself, 'Martha Marcy May Marlene' is a film of rough edges and no easy answers, nearly perfect in its imperfection."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 958 words, 10/21/11
Dana Stevens, Slate: MODERATE "...the final result (especially, but not exclusively, the ending) is too elliptical... dangles the promise of meaning that never arrives."(See all of Dana Stevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 984 words, 10/20/11
Peter Debruge, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "The largely elliptical script feels a few drafts shy of focus, with the thriller elements undermining the juicier questions of why one joins a cult and how life can go back to normal later..."(See all of Peter Debruge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 879 words, 01/22/11
David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: EXCELLENT "...mesmerizing... a smart, suspenseful reflection on the insidious way cults operate and the psychological vulnerabilities on which they prey."(See all of David Rooney's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 837 words, 01/21/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...like life itself, 'Martha Marcy May Marlene' is a film of rough edges and no easy answers, nearly perfect in its imperfection."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 958 words, 10/21/11
Patrick Z. McGavin, Cinema 24/7: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a formally audacious and visually sophisticated debut from the gifted young filmmaker Sean Durkin.... a disquieting and frightening portrait of surrender and coercion."(See all of Patrick Z. McGavin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 777 words, 01/30/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...an impressive piece of work without achieving quite the emotional impact it intends.... the movie's structure begins to feel evasive rather than probing."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 804 words, 10/21/11
15.0 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Martha Marcy May Marlene's reviews are separated by an average 15.0 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Martha Marcy May Marlene (50 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Martha Marcy May Marlene's reviews cover 95.8% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 29,218 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 584 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 5 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Martha Marcy May Marlene's reviews on average broke 5 days before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Martha Marcy May Marlene's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Martha Marcy May Marlene (50 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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