TIFF: ‘Martha Marcy May Marlene’ is a nail-biting psychological thriller about a cult survivor

The psychological scars cults leave on former members has received scarce attention in the cinematic tradition (docs about Jonestown and Waco notwithstanding.) Thankfully, Sean Durkin’s chilling Martha Marcy May Marlene makes up for a lifetime of celluloid neglect in this absolutely riveting and downright creepy thriller about Martha (Elizabeth Olsen), a young woman who escapes an abusive cult but then can’t seem to shake away the painful memories and slow-burning trauma. Martha seeks solace at her estranged older sister’s lakeside cottage, but rapidly begins to unravel as she’s haunted by dreams/visions/memories of her previous cult-abiding existence and its manipulative, charismatic leader (Winter’s Bone’s John Hawkes, frighteningly good.) To compound her sense of loneliness and dread, Martha doesn’t reveal to her sister (Sarah Paulson) or brother-in-law (Hugh Dancy) what exactly she ran away from, isolating herself further as a cult runaway.

Director Sean Durkin crafts a nail-biting, taut thriller that takes us inside the mind of a lost soul on the brink of a full-blown mental meltdown. And who knew Mare-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s little sister could act? The 22-year-old breakout star carries the film with her fearful, inquisitive eyes, a mix of emotional aloofness, freakout fits, and generally wayward behaviour. The paranoia she conveys on-screen will send shivers down your spine. As the line separating reality from delusion begins to fade, poor Martha is left to relive her traumatic cult sojourn with its deceptive, Bible Belting predator all over again, and we're left with some degree of ambiguity as to whether the memories being dug up are real or imagined. As if we needed one, Martha Marcy May Marlene gives us all another reason to take a pass on blind faith and boundless worship of any kind.

Saturday, September 17 | TIFF Bell Lightbox 2 | 9:45pm
Toronto International Film Festival | Until September 18 | tiff.net 

Montreal: In theatres November 4 | foxsearchlight.com/marthamarcymaymarlene