One of the first things I was taught in Film Studies is that when approaching a film one should be objective and try to remove personal feelings from one’s analysis. This way one can study and write about any film without the block of whether I thought it was a good film or a bad film. 100% objectivity is impossible for me simply because feelings dictate practically everything I do, so what I try to do is strike a balance between being objective and subjective. However when it comes to writing essays the balance tips towards objective more so than subjective, and the opposite happens with reviews. In there lies the dilemma, because sometimes a film comes along that reviewed objectively deserves the highest of praise but subjectively I would place it at the bottom of the barrel. In other words, I’m torn about how to approach Martha Marcy May Marlene.

The film opens on a quiet and desolate farm where the men led by Patrick (John Hawkes) eat before the women. Right from the start we get a feeling that there’s something off with these group of people. At dawn on the next day, Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) quietly sneaks out of the farm and runs through the woods making her escape. After contacting her sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson), Martha takes refuge at Lucy’s lake house alongside her husband Ted (Hugh Dancy). As the days pass, Martha is haunted by memories of her stay in the farm and as a result of her experience there she progressively starts a downward spiral of paranoia and delusion.

Let’s kick off this review with an objective approach. Two running motif the film utilizes are long takes and the static camera, which almost never moves unless it is to gradually zoom in on someone’s face. Because of the stillness of the camera alongside the fact that it lingers on people’s expressions and the desolate surroundings, an overwhelmingly eerie and unnerving feeling is created. Throughout the film there’s a huge sense that something wrong will happen, there’s this palpable harrowing anticipation that grows stronger as Martha’s paranoia increases. The film’s visual structure is directly related to Martha state of mind, and a as result it succeeds beautifully in making you feel tense and frighten. You can tell right away that director Sean Durkin really loves Elizabeth Olsen, as he opts to focus a lot on her face and her body which make her both even more beautiful than she is and also more intriguing.

The acting in this film is pretty stellar from everyone involved, but John Hawkes and Elizabeth Olsen are the definite standouts. One of the reason Hawkes performance is so great is the way he delivers really insane and frightening lines with a smile. It both gives a sense that his character is a really caring and honest one, but at the same time he could literally kill you without dropping a sweat. It is because of how Hawkes conveys genuine care that you can tell why Martha would trust him, even when he doesn’t hide his dark and twisted nature. Then there’s Elizabeth Olsen who gives a brilliant debut performance. Her performance is for the most part a really quiet and toned down one, and while she internalizes a lot of the terror and trauma of her experience in the farm, it obvious to see that she’s unhinged. Even with the emotional wall she builds around herself, with her mannerisms she perfectly conveys how torn up she is. Olsen adequately captures those subtleties and delivers a powerhouse performance.

Now to the subjective approach. I did not like Martha Marcy May Marlene at all and as a matter of fact, the more I think about it the more my dislike grows. First of all, there isn’t a single sympethatic or empathetic character in this film and as a result it became a struggle for me to sit through it. I hated everyone in the farm, because those people are delusional and I absolutely hate when men abuse women and the women not only take it, but also embrace it. I think that’s somewhat the desired reaction to have towards those people, as they are all highly unlikable and twisted. What wasn’t the desired reaction was also dreading and disliking Elizabeth Olsen’s character. I’m sorry, but I can’t feel empathy for a woman who accepted and allowed herself to be abused and her consequent inability to communicate with her sister made her even more annoying and overbearing to watch. Add to that the film’s slow-pace and my experience of it centred on being absolutely bored and wanting for the whole thing to just end.

So there you have it, two contrasting approaches to Martha Marcy May Marlene. I won’t deny that the film is a first-class thriller that will probably make a lot of people feel tense, frighten and scared. The cinematography, direction and score enhance a lot that eerie feeling of isolation and imminent doom. The performance form everyone involved are great and effective. My initial thought that John Hawkes’ performance would be similar to the one in Winter’s Bone was fortunately totally wrong, as the both characters couldn’t be more different. Olsen’s performance was also great and she shows a lot of potential. But neither her performance or Hawkes’ are Oscar worthy, and because I’m sure I’m not the only one who will find their characters unsympathetic don’t expect them to get any Oscar love. As I said before, I did not like this film and as such my rating of it will reflect that. Martha Marcy May Marlene is one of the biggest disappointments of the year and while I understand why a lot of people seem to like it, I would be totally happy with never having to see it again.

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