Regina

Elizabeth Olsen is amazing in this movie. She is in almost every scene and delivers a great performance from beginning to end. I found it to be an interesting and unnerving study of a person's breakdown after a traumatic and unforgettable experience. The ending of this movie gave me chills.

A subtle, haunting film whose timeline seamlessly interweaves past and present. Elizabeth Olsen is fantastic.

Brilliant film! The pace is perfect as Elisabeth Olsen's character disintegrates before our eyes. Creepy and bleak while at the same time suspenseful.

To me the film was an arresting piece of cinema. Its pace was perfect and mimicked at once Martha May's immersion into the cult and her struggles to free herself from it. Olsen and Hawkes are great and I thought the ending was very à propos 'cause it left a lot to the imagination. I can't really understand why people hate this film especially 'cause I assume (maybe incorrectly) that a minimum of research (like reading a few reviews) is done before going into any film.

This film is definitely not for people who do not appreciate psychology and who like their films with an easy story line and all the answers in the film just handed over to you. Elizabeth Olsen gives a brilliant performance as a young woman that escapes from a dangerous cult whom that is also trying to disconnect herself from that life along with her thoughts and memories. I find the review that claims 'A very untrue story line'!!!?! Have you not heard of The Manson family? Which I am positive this movie was influenced by. This movie is worth seeing don’t let other simple minded reviews bias you.

Please do not waste your time and money, this movie was such a boring with very untrue story, I hate it. Bad One!!!

Not sure why this is getting such low ratings on this site. This film was very well done, and I really enjoyed it. It's mostly about character development, but is extremely well acted and directed. The ending is abrupt but it didn't ruin the film for me whatsoever. That said, if you're exclusively into action-packed or comedy films, this might not be for you.

When I pay to see a movie, I want to watch an engaging story, with a Beginning, a Middle and an End. The flashbacks or memories or hallucinations delivers bits of information at a measured pace, leaving you to imagine the worst but assuming much less. Olsen is certainly an intense and arresting presence, impossible to stop watching, and casting directors must be camping outside her door. However, the non-ending turns the whole movie into an elaborate tease, too creepy to dismiss, too shallow to justify its “ambiguities. ”

Waste of time and money. Kept thinking it had to (or possibly could) get better, but it kept getting worse. A good ending might have redeemed it a little. Good acting, I think, but not much for the actors to work with. A few stupid inconsistencies made it hard to believe as a real story.

As boring a movie as you will ever see. Has no real beginning nor ending. Very disappointing and disturbing. Not only is this not worth the money, it is more importantly, not worth the time spent on watching it.

A beautifully haunting film, with great performances by Olsen and Hawkes. It is a character film, not a film with narrative per se. The cross-cutting editing was fantastic in not only telling of what happened in the past of "Marcy May" and what is happening to the current Martha, but also creating the way Martha's mind sees things, from being brainwashed and trying to slowly recover, not knowing right from wrong. The slow pace is deliberate to reflect Martha's state of mind as well as the "surprise" ending just reinforces it, rather than completing a traditional narrative, as we typically would expect. I hope to see some sort of Oscar recognition for this film in possibly quite a few categories.

I thought the movie took me into a deeper understanding of the permanence of the effects of belonging to any subculture. The acting was really excellent, the pacing was slow to underscore the insidiousness of the psychological changes that occur. The story was as worthy an attempt at film-making as any other worldly vices that grace the screen - drugs, sex, violence.

This is just a very bad and boring movie. Period. The ending however is sure to become infamous - as perhaps the biggest let down in film history.

Well paced, excellent performances and a window into a dark and twisted place we know so little about. It's surprising believability lets you get sucked into the world; accepting every unbelievable decision each character makes. A worthy finish that will only leave you wanting more.

Called a 'psychological thriller', this film displays beautifully how one can lose control of their judgement and their sanity through brainwashing. Although a first-timer in an adult role, Elizabeth Olson seldom missed a step in her performance, and John Hawkes' portrayal of the creepy, charismatic cult leader may get him an Oscar nomination.

It was pretty slow and annoyingly "artsy" at times. I didn't hate it but I won't recommend anyone go to the cinema to see it.

Martha Marcy May Marlene is a really well-acted and eerily-crafted thriller. But I dreaded almost every single second of it. The characters are all unsympathetic and unlikable, the slow pace (which I don't mind sometimes) was really overbearing and annoying. All in all this film is one of the biggest disappointments of the year and while I understand why a lot of critics seem to like it, I would be totally happy with never having to see it again.

Stupid movie, waste of money and time.

A very enigmatic film with a standout performance from Elizabeth Olsen. The lack of a background score lends to the eerie intensity of the film and makes the whole viewing experience intentionally uncomfortable. The movie lags a bit in places and the Hugh Dancy character is a bit one-dimensional but everyone else is quite good. The cult aspect is cleverly underplayed and it is interesting to witness how naturally altruistic influence can become sinister manipulation. The kind of creepy movie that leaves you with the feeling that you should turn every so often and look over your shoulder.

It's hard to believe that some people can consider this a good film. It was disturbing in a very boring, boring, kind of way... a poor attempt at illustrating how being sucked into a cult can lead to enduring psychological torment. Don't throw your money away to see this. You don't learn anything that you don't already know... and it isn't entertaining.

Not for all to see, rather long with flashbacks back and forth, great acting from Elizabeth Olsen, Oscar buzz!!!

I loved the movie. It's a good suspense that leaves you on the edge of your seat...

Very odd movie, no continuity and no back story to help you understand the current story. It runs very long in places.

I saw the premiere, I liked it a lot. I loved how the story little by little reveals the effects of the cult on the main character; how it changed her life forever. Elizabeth Olsen was amazing, she did a great job, very talented young lady. John Hawkes was great too; it was not easy to play his character! It was a great movie.

An often disturbing film that pulls back the layers of one young woman's deeply unsettled mind. Elizabeth Olsen gives a great performance as the confused, fragile and paranoid title character (s), and it's fascinating to watch as her memories (if that's what they are) begin to intertwine with and disrupt her reality (if that's what it is) A bit uneven here and there, and I suspect a lot of people will hate the ending, but otherwise I found it a unique and quite mesmerizing film. I'll be disappointed if Elizabeth Olsen doesn't snag an Oscar nomination for this role.

The young actress "Lizzie Olsen" younger sibling of the Olsen Twins, gives an amazing performance for her debut acting role. This movie will leave you searching for answers, you will be discussing this film for a long time, too come. Some will love it, others, will hate it. It is emotionally draining. The other cast members are fabulous, John Hawkes (A Winter's Bone) gives a stellar peformace, albeit a creepy, sinister role, a first, for him. The movie is beautifully edited, this will be an Academy Award contender for sure, ie: editing, sound, and hopefully acting, too!!

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