Martha Marcy May Marlene
This first feature by writer-director Sean Durkin, a big hit at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, centers on an enigmatic character with a minimal backstory. Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) is a 22-year-old who has spent the past two years living in a cult community in upstate New York.
As the tale begins, she has decided to escape. She disappears into the woods and eventually calls her sister—who hasn't heard from her in three years—to come pick her up. Martha is secretive with her sister about where she has been, but through a complex series of flashbacks and intercuts we learn what has happened and how it has affected her.
