Cast: Elisabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, John Hawkes
When we first meet Martha, she's making a run through a series of trees to an outside world; we don't know why but we presume the worst and as this wily drama plays out there's a real slow burning sense of brilliance about it.
But her arrival unannounced and unexpected causes tension for Lucy and her new husband.
Flashbacks interwoven into the narrative show Martha was part of a cult and escaped for reasons which are left unexplained into very late in the piece - but there's a real sense of dread as this tale unfolds and reveals more about life in the thrall of the cult and how it's impacted on her perception of life around her.
To be brutally frank, there's also a real sense we're seeing something sensationally good about Olsen's acting as the onion layers peel back in a shockingly emotional way.
Through a restrained turn and some very well put together directing, Martha Marcy May Marlene is a gripping and fascinating watch. Both Paulson and Olsen give simmeringly emotional performances as the sisters reunited and as tensions between the two escalate. Equally John Hawkes is to be commended for his ominously creepy turn as the leader of the cult - every time he's on screen, there's a real sense of unease about what will unfold.
As the paranoia escalates in this piece and suspicions swirl, the main three actors within the cast rise at a stellar level to what's needed of them, making this compelling from its quiet beginnings to the very end.
Along with the very abrupt end to the drama, a lot of people will be talking about Martha Marcy May Marlene - good or bad, you can't help but feel this is a career defining turn for Olsen and the birth of a really exciting talent.
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