Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)

Director:

Sean Durkin

Writer:

Sean Durkin (written by)

Release Date:

21 December 2011 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Haunted by painful memories and increasing paranoia, a damaged woman struggles to re-assimilate with her family after fleeing an abusive cult.

Plot Keywords:

Cult | Memory | Brother In Law | Paranoia | Catskills

Awards:

16 wins & 41 nominations

Cast

Elizabeth Olsen	...	Martha
Christopher Abbott	...	Max
Brady Corbet	...	Watts
Hugh Dancy	...	Ted
Maria Dizzia	...	Katie
Julia Garner	...	Sarah
John Hawkes	...	Patrick
Louisa Krause	...	Zoe
Sarah Paulson	...	Lucy
Adam David Thompson	...	Bartender (as Adam Thompson)
Allen McCullough	...	Man in Home #2
Lauren Molina	...	Cult Member
Louisa Braden Johnson	...	Cult Member
Tobias Segal	...	Cult Member
Gregg Burton	...	Man in Home #1
Barbara Aragon	...	Extra
Donald E. Benjamin	...	Extra
Stacie A. Blaut	...	Extra
Carole L. Brookman	...	Extra
Heather Boyd	...	Extra
Ellie Brooks	...	Extra
Richard S. Clark Jr.	...	Extra
Sal Crescitelli	...	Extra
Josephine E. DeSimone	...	Extra
Jarret Featherbay	...	Extra
Jill Halpern Steingart	...	Extra
Jonathan Huppke	...	Extra
Louis H. Jawitz	...	Extra
Fred A. Kahn	...	Extra
Heather M. Kayal	...	Extra (as Heather M. Kayak)
Jin Kyung Kim	...	Extra
Ava K. Levy-Lynn	...	Extra
Franco C. Lisacchi	...	Extra
Nancy I. Mahoney	...	Extra
Joanne McDonough	...	Extra
John F. McDonough	...	Extra
James P. Minoux	...	Extra
Annette Nazari	...	Extra
J. Clifford Noonan	...	Extra
Claire Payevsky	...	Extra
Dalton Powell	...	Extra
Jackson Powell	...	Extra
Peyton Powell	...	Extra
Samantha Powell	...	Extra
Christopher Roe	...	Extra
Aziza O. Simpkins	...	Extra
Judith M. Skordinski	...	Extra
Jessica K. Smith	...	Extra
Beth Stephens	...	Extra
Jot Stephens	...	Extra
Jennifer L. Vega	...	Extra
Rahmel Thomas Walker	...	Extra
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Chmiel	...	Scruffy Man (uncredited)
Diana Masi	...	Cult Member (uncredited)

Directed by
Sean Durkin

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sean Durkin		written by

Produced by
Antonio Campos	....	producer
Andrew Corkin	....	co-producer (as Andrew D. Corkin)
Patrick Cunningham	....	producer
Ted Hope	....	executive producer
Saemi Kim	....	executive producer
Saerom Kim	....	executive producer
Chris Maybach	....	producer
Josh Mond	....	producer
Matt Palmieri	....	executive producer
Brett Potter	....	associate producer
Melody C. Roscher	....	line producer (as Melody Roscher)
Alexander Schepsman	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Danny Bensi
Saunder Jurriaans

Cinematography by
Jody Lee Lipes

Film Editing by
Zachary Stuart-Pontier		(as Zac Stuart-Pontier)

Casting by
Randi Glass
Susan Shopmaker

Production Design by
Chad Keith

Art Direction by
Jonathan Guggenheim

Costume Design by
David Tabbert

Makeup Department
Jessica Kelleher	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Garrett P. Fennelly	....	unit production manager (as Garrett Fennelly)
Susan Lazarus	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ramona Adair	....	second assistant director
Tomas Deckaj	....	first assistant director
Anne Marie Dentici	....	second assistant director
Michele Erdman	....	second second assistant director
Zachary Stuart-Pontier	....	second unit director (as Zac Stuart-Pontier)

Art Department
Shawn Annabel	....	property master
Yvette Granata	....	set dresser
Esther Kim	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Coll Anderson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Coll Anderson	....	supervising sound editor
Micah Bloomberg	....	production sound mixer
John Chiarolanzio	....	assistant sound editor (as John Chirarolanzio)
Steve F.B. Smith	....	sound consultant: Dolby
Matt Snedecor	....	sound effects editor
John Soukup	....	sound transfer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
David Tecson	....	visual effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Chad Hessler	....	stunt double: Hugh Dancy
Abby Nelson	....	stunt double: Elizabeth Olsen
Kevin Rogers	....	stunt double: Brady Corbet
Anthony Vincent	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Josh M. Allen	....	gaffer (as Josh Allen)
Joe Anderson	....	director of photography: second unit
Joe Anderson	....	first assistant camera
Noah Chamis	....	camera production assistant
Destin Douglas	....	second assistant camera
Alexander Engel	....	key grip
Josh Fordham	....	best boy grip
David Gettens	....	electric production assistant
Sarah Guenther	....	underwater camera operator
Drew Innis	....	still photographer
David Kavanaugh	....	best boy electric
Burton May	....	grip production assistant
Jeff Peixoto	....	second assistant camera
Greta Zozula	....	camera loader
Gustavo Brum	....	epk cinematographer (uncredited)
Dave Han	....	electrician (uncredited)

Animation Department
Tim Van Horn	....	animator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dominic Andolina	....	wardrobe assistant
Dorothy Barangan	....	wardrobe assistant
Blake Glover	....	assistant costume designer
Leslie Paddoll	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Amalia Bradstreet	....	post-production assistant
Don Ciana	....	color timer
Sam Daley	....	colorist: dailies
Sam Daley	....	digital intermediate colorist
Jessica Elvin	....	digital intermediate editor
Barbara Jean Kearney	....	digital intermediate account executive
Eric Leverenz	....	digital imaging
D.C. Marcial	....	assistant editor (as Dean C. Marcial)
Patrick McGuinn	....	dailies project manager
Phil McLennan	....	laboratory production manager
Bernadette Nieves	....	film recording producer
Patrick Rossi	....	film recording
Misako Shimizu	....	assistant editor
Alessandro Soares	....	film recording
Andrew Still	....	digital intermediate data manager
Kevin Vale	....	digital intermediate producer
Michael P. Whipple	....	digital intermediate engineer
Victoria Anderson	....	colorist assistant (uncredited)
Mark Reaser	....	hd mastering (uncredited)

Other crew
Stephanie Clough	....	chef assistant
Will Corkin	....	production assistant
Amy Crowdis	....	production coordinator
Grant Curatola	....	location manager
Brendan Donohue	....	production assistant
Pete Donohue	....	production assistant (as Peter Donohue)
John William Donovan Corkin	....	production assistant
Scott Helgert	....	stand-in
Martin Jones	....	legal services: Pryor Cashman
Zorinah Juan	....	script supervisor
Katie Kramer	....	key production assistant
Julianne Maiello	....	assistant chef
Junior Mitil	....	film runner (as Junior Mitel)
Matthew Snetzko	....	production assistant
Lloyd Steele	....	legal services: Pryor Cashman
Josh Stern	....	assistant: Ted Hope
Peter Van Hyning	....	chef assistant
Lee Walker	....	production assistant
W. Wilder Knight II	....	legal services: Pryor Cashman
Amber Zeglen	....	chef
Ian M. Stratford	....	financial counsel (uncredited)
David Tecson	....	title designer (uncredited)

Thanks
Joan Darling	....	special thanks
Raúl Esparza	....	special thanks
Rose Ganguzza	....	special thanks
Gyula Gazdag	....	special thanks
Lesli Linka Glatter	....	special thanks
Ed Harris	....	special thanks
Drew Kuhse	....	thanks
Doug McGrath	....	special thanks
James Rasin	....	thanks
Robert Redford	....	special thanks
Brad Silberling	....	special thanks
Joan Tewkesbury	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Fox Searchlight Pictures (presents)
• Cunningham & Maybach Films (as Maybach Cunningham) (presents)
• Maybach Film Productions (presents)
• FilmHaven Entertainment (presents)
• BorderLine Films
• This Is That Productions (as This Is That) (in association with)

Distributors

• Fox Searchlight Pictures (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2011) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2012) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Netherlands (2012) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (through Warner Bros.)
• 20th Century Fox (2011) (Canada) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2012) (France) (theatrical)
• Big Picture 2 Films (2012) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Hispano Foxfilms S.A.E. (2012) (Spain) (theatrical) (as Hispano Foxfilm S.A.E.)
• Odeon (2012) (Greece) (theatrical)
• SPO (2013) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Tour de Force (2012) (Norway) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox C.I.S. (2012) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2012) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (through)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Japan (2013) (Japan) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2012) (Argentina) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2012) (Argentina) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2012) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2012) (Argentina) (all media)
• Film1 (2013) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Germany (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2012) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Edgeworx Studios (uncredited)

Other Companies

• Act Zero Films  production services
• Bristow Films  thanks
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Edgeworx Studios  titles and opticals
• Film Emporium  production insurance
• Gray Krauss Des Rochers  legal services
• Pryor Cashman  legal services
• Technicolor New York  digital intermediate and technical support
• UTA Independent Film Group  representation

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for disturbing violent and sexual content, nudity and language

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #46820) | Ireland:16 | Sweden:15 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Australia:MA15+ | South Korea:18 | Portugal:M/16 | UK:15 | Norway:15 | Singapore:M18 | Argentina:16 | Japan:PG12 | Italy:VM14

Filming Locations:

Tennanah Lake, Roscoe, New York, USA

Company:

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Trivia:

Shot over 20 days.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Watts:[as Martha runs away] Marcy! Marcy May! Where ya goin'?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Maltin on Movies: Margin Call (#1.51)" (2011)

What's wrong with you?

Greetings again from the darkness. This one has been on my radar since the Sundance Festival and all the raves about Elizabeth Olsen's performance. After attending a screening last evening, I find myself at a loss to adequately describe not just her stunning turn, but also this unusual film from writer/director Sean Durkin.

On the surface, this sounds like just another movie peeking inside a creepy cult that brainwashes, and psychologically and physically abuses women, and is led by a charismatic (and creepy) religious style figure-head. There are many similarities to the Manson-family story of which much has been published, but Mr. Durkin takes the film in a much different and very creative direction by concentrating on what happens to Martha (Olsen) after she escapes the cult.

In the Q&A, Durkin states he did much research and found the most fascinating story to be that of a cult escapee and what she went through during her first three weeks of freedom. Martha sneaks out early one morning and places a panic call to her older sister, whom she hasn't communicated with in two years. Settling in to the lake house with big sis and new brother-in-law, it becomes quite obvious that Martha doesn't know how to fit in society and has absolutely no interest in discussing her recent past.

The sister is played very well by Sarah Paulson, and her husband is Hugh Dancy (so very good in Adam). This seemingly normal yuppie couple is trying to do right by Martha, but the fits of paranoia, outbursts of anger, and societal goofs are just too much for them.

The genius of this film is in the story telling. The cinematic toggling between today and moments of time at the cult farm house leads the viewer right into the confused mind of Martha. We don't get much back story but it's obvious she was "ripe" for cult world when she was chosen. We see how Patrick, the quietly charismatic leader, sings her a song and steals her heart ... she wants so much to belong. We also see how she bonds with the other women at the farm house, and ends up in a situation that seems to snap her out just enough so she finds the strength to leave. The editing of scenes between these two worlds in outstanding and serve to keep the viewer glued to the screen.

Last year I raved about an independent film called Winter's Bone. I chose it as one of the year's best and it ended with some industry award recognition. I am not willing to say this film is quite at that level, but I will say that the younger sister of the Olsen twins, Elizabeth, delivers an incredible first feature film performance and Sean Durkin deserves an audience for his first feature film as writer/director. Another bond between the two indies is that John Hawkes plays the cult leader Patrick, and Hawkes was a standout in Winter's Bone.

There will undoubtedly be some debate about whether this is cutting edge independent filmmaking or just another snooty art-house mind-messer. All I can say is, I hope the film grabs enough audience for the debate to matter ... it deserves it.