That’s a lot of “M” names, isn’t it? (I keep calling the film “Martha etc.”) Strange title or not, it’s an indie that’s been the talk of the festival circuit, winning the Best Director prize at Sundance and being chosen for Cannes, Toronto and New York. Today it had its turn in Santa Barbara.
Trailer here.
I didn’t love it. The story of a young woman who escapes from a cult to live with her sister and brother-in-law, it does a beautiful job of asking what is memory and what is a dream and what is reality. And the performances are uniformly great. But the ending (*** SPOILER ALERT ***) made me so angry. I get that it’s supposed to be ambiguous and let us decide what it all means. And, according to the director, who came today for a Q&A, the subject is too complex to be “buttoned up neatly” at the end. Give me a break. We all sat there through some difficult scenes (i.e. the flashbacks of the main character being abused while living with the cult) and we deserved a payoff in the last scene.
I wasn’t the only one who felt that way, judging by the mass exodus as the credits rolled. I stayed for the Q&A, because the producer and director made the trip up from LA, along with the amazing actor who played the cult leader, John Hawke (nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for “Winter’s Bone”). I wanted to be polite. And there was a private reception afterward with yummy food, courtesy of the Simpson House Inn – no small lure.
At the reception I talked to Hawke and, unlike the slimy characters he plays, he couldn’t be sweeter or more appealing. Just a really nice guy. But even he acknowledged that the film belongs to newcomer Elizabeth Olsen. Yes, she’s the younger and more full-bodied sister of the skeletal Olsen Twins.
“Martha, etc” was her first film and yet she seemed totally comfortable in front of the camera. Her accomplishment was all the more impressive because she was shooting another movie at the same time this one was being shot and would commute back and forth between the two. The buzz is she’s the indie world’s new “It” girl, but we’ll see. Suffice it to say she’s very, very good in this one.
I would so enjoy these events you attend.
I would also enjoy hearing from the people who made the movie as well as the actors.
A slice of where they were coming from as well as why. I like all those thoughts and ideas.
Like talking to you after I’ve read one of your books. I would like to ask, didn’t you think she was bitchy? Did you want her that way? That type of thing.
You have a nice little life Ms. Jane. :-) Need a friend to tag along? I’ll be quiet. I promise….ok that is probably a lie.
You would enjoy the Cinema Society events, Peg. They’re one of the first things we signed up for when we moved here, and I’m so glad we did. We’re not joiners by nature, but it’s nice to go to movies where everybody’s really into them (no talking, no kicking your seat, no cell phones on) and we get to hear from the filmmakers afterward and hear how it all happened. (Ask me anything about the books. I’m right here!) As for my life, well, you may take back what you wrote after reading the new book. It’s been anything but “nice” at times. All in all though, I’m very lucky. And I would LOVE it if you’d be my friend and tag along. :)
Yup…in total agreement with Miz Margaret about all those Nu Nu Movies you get to see, PLUS meeting the Majah Playas afterwards…sounds Fan-tastic, and by most all your accounts, it is. Lucky lady you are, at least when it comes to this!!
As far as this flick, and the subject matter…don’t ya get the feeling that almost every single cult is one big excuse for the Menfolk Organizers to get as much sex as they possibly can with as many partners as they possibly can, ages eight to 48 (well, maybe only 28)…and that everything else is contrived B.S.? Or is that just my cynical east coast bias creeping in again? That said, congrats to the acting people involved…
The filmmakers made a big deal about the fact that the heroine wasn’t in a “cult,” Dave – they didn’t want to fall into the trap/cliche of every other movie about cults. But trust me, it was a cult. The difference, I guess, is that their story is about what happens when you leave the cult and try to assimilate into a normal life with family members. The cult in the film does show the menfolk having their way with the women, but it’s also about how easily these women fall under the spell of “family” and how lost they are as individuals. They buy right into the idea that they’re rejecting material wealth for a sense of belonging. It’s very sad. You’re not being cynical. That’s how it is – the men are creeps and the women are brainwashed.