Martha Marcy May Marlene - 2011 - 3½ Stars

Actors:  Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes
Director:  T. Sean Durkin

I have a feeling that Martha Marcy May Marlene is either a better or worse film than I think right now.  Covering what happens to a woman of indeterminate age (early 20s?  mid 20s?) after she runs away from home and when she returns, the film wrestles with the notion of faulty memories.  If we can't accurately remember what's happened to us in our lives, how can we move forward?  When we're not sure of what we are or were, how can we put ourselves where we want to be?

Where the film runs awry, it's because it's putting too much responsibility on the viewer to construct the story.  Still, it's far from dogmatic, and that's a relief given the impulses of most writers/filmmakers.