MovieChat Forums > Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) Discussion > There was just something missing from th...

There was just something missing from this film.

posted 11 years ago by fiatlux-1
3 replies | jump to latest

It had most of the ingredients of a good tale, and was atmospheric and beautifully filmed.
But it seemed like there wasn't enough character development, even for the main character.
We no sooner got to know these characters even a little, and the film abruptly ends! I had high hopes for it too, as I liked Ms. Olsen in "Silent House", but she wasn't given enough to 'do' here. Ditto her onscreen family.

"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."

[–] leishayoung 11 years ago

Yeah I agree. I didn't really care about any of the characters which suggests there wasn't enough character development. I think they were going for a subtle approach to show how people become involved with, and trapped in, cults (it's a subtle process of manipulation). However, it was perhaps a little too subtle, to the point where you're not quite sure what's happening...and eventually don't care.

It doesn't help that it was overhyped.

[–] PACman66 8 years ago

I was alright with the ambiguity of the characters/storyline...
I would, however like.. And ending? Too much to ask?

Trust me,
Swan
My, you're nosey, aren't you?

[–] HenryCW 8 years ago

I agree. One problem with this film was that we know practically nothing about Martha's character, and what caused her to join the cult in the first place. Was it really true (as she told her sister Lucy) that she had a boyfriend who cheated on her? We know nothing about her life and her relationships with her family and other people (though obviously they were not good) before she joined the cult.

In the DVD, there is a short film entitled "Mary Last Seen", which was supposed to be the source material on which this longer film was based. In the short film, the character "Mary" was shown to have sex with her boyfriend, take a nude swim, and then she was taken to the cult's camp, and presumably (as the film's title suggests) was not heard of again. Unfortunately, the short film does not provide any background to Mary's character either.