DVD review: Martha Marcy May Marlene

Studio: 20th Century Fox
Running Time: 122 minutes
Rating: R
Number of Disks: 1
 
Special Features:
- Mary Last Seen

 

   Bridging and blurring the gap between psychological thriller and stirring drama, Martha Marcy May Marlene offers breakout brilliance by both writer/director Sean Durkin and relative newcomer Elizabeth Olsen, who up until this point has mostly dusted her career with the fluff of filmmaking under the watchful eyes of big sisters Mary-Kate and Ashley.

   Martha permits Olsen to break the bonds of convention facilitating a haunting yet quietly controlled performance and together with Durkin’s mesmerizing material pushing and pulling the audience steadily deeper into a world of ever increasing anxiety, what meets you in the end is as stunning as it is unsettling.

   Durkin’s future work should be eagerly anticipated if this first vehicle is any indication of his range and ability to hold the audience spellbound.

   Unfortunately, the DVD offers few insights into either of these up and coming talents, containing only the lone extra “Mary Last Seen”, which is a good enough supplement supplying a short film foreshadowing these current events, but comes nowhere near the bonus material offered with the Blu-ray. Therefore those with the pay-day and players may want to upgrade for both the picture and punch.

   So with wonderfully unique intrigue and an essence that will keep you guessin’, Martha Marcy May Marlene is drama at its finest and guile at its most captivating.

 

 

Additional Resources:
Cast: Elizabeth Olsen | Christopher Abbott | Brady Corbet | Hugh Dancy | Maria Dizzia | Julia Garner | John Hawkes | Louisa Krause | Sarah Paulson
Director: Sean Durkin
Central Writers: Sean Durkin

Theatrical Release: October 11, 2011 (Limited)
Blu-Ray/DVD Release: February 21, 2012
Genre: Drama | Thriller
Supporting Cast and more Writers found HERE