Martha Marcy May Marlene

MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE (2011) - April 18, 2012
About a young woman who, after spending about three years living in a commune with a cult, finally decides to leave.  She then goes to stay with her sister, but she has a hard time readjusting to life outside the cult.  Featuring some really effective, impressive direction from first-time director Sean Durkin, the film is actually pretty riveting at times.  It also features an amazing central performance from Elizabeth Olsen, and yet another impressive performance from John Hawkes, who is equal parts creepy and charismatic as the leader of the cult.  The film does feel like it's spinning its wheels a bit around the mid-section, but all in all it's a really solid first outing from Durkin.  ***