There is Method in This Madness: Investigating MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE
1 January 2012 (Happy New Year)
Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene is one of the most demanding films of 2011. The film is just over 100 minutes long, but requires innumerable hours of reflection, contemplation, and discussion. Remarkably, there is no single way to digest Martha Marcy May Marlene; the film is infinite because its ambiguity sustains deep investigation and multiple interpretations. During a time when filmmakers practically spoon-feed films to audiences, it is a refreshing challenge to encounter a film as complex as Martha Marcy May Marlene.
Briefly, the film picks up with Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) the morning she decides to leave the cult she is involved with. After witnessing a horrific crime, committed by members to the cult, Martha flees. Initially, one of the men from the cult, Watts (Brady Corbet), follows her and tries to take Martha back with him; however, after minimal effort, he lets her go and she reunites with her sister, Lucy (Sarah Paulson), and brother-in-law, Ted (Hugh Dancy). Although Ted and Lucy live in New York City, they take her to their lake house in Connecticut, where they are on holiday for two weeks. In the days she spends with her family in Connecticut, the audience watches Martha’s mental stability diminish as she flashes back through her experiences in the cult. Her flashbacks are chronological, all leading up to the horrific crime that pushed her to flee. Meanwhile, as Martha is reeling in memories, Lucy and Ted, who know nothing of the cult or where Martha has been for the past few years, struggle with Martha’s erratic and bizarre behavior. In the film’s conclusion, Ted and Lucy decide to admit Martha to a mental hospital. The final scene of the film is, perhaps, one of the most understated and sophisticated climaxes in cinema.
In the last scene, Ted, Lucy, and Martha are in Ted’s car en route to the hospital. As they begin driving, a man (the same man Martha saw watching her swim in the lake in a previous scene) walks right in front of the car. Ted slams on the breaks and the man walks past the car. Ted and Lucy are shaken by the near accident, but Martha, who is seated in the backseat, is clearly the most distressed by the man’s reemergence; although she does not utter a sound, her face reveals sheer panic. As Ted drives on, the man, who is visible through the rear window of Ted’s car, gets into the black SUV parked on the side of the road (the same SUV Martha saw in the woods and smashed the window of), and begins to follow Ted’s car. The credits role.
What becomes evident in this last scene is Martha never escaped the cult. Instead, the cult let her go. By the end, the audience knows how the cult operates. When Martha flashes back to the trauma that pushed her to leave the cult, viewers realize the cult does not make money by selling quilts and blankets, as one woman told Martha upon her entry into their community. The cult makes their money by breaking into expensive homes, murdering the occupants, and stealing. Thus, when Martha fled and Watts followed her, he did not force her to return with him because she was more valuable to the cult with her family, Ted and Lucy. The final scene makes it clear the cult is narrowing in on Ted and Lucy.
What remains a mystery, and is a credit to the film’s ability to sustain ambiguity, is Martha’s involvement in the cult’s plan. Martha’s mental instability makes it impossible to get a definitive read on her. For a large part of the film it is uncertain whether the cult even exists. Martha asks her sister, “Do you ever have that feeling where you can’t tell if something is a memory or if it’s something you dreamed?” Martha’s own confusion makes her unreliable. However, as soon as the audience recognizes the man who walks in front of Ted and Lucy’s car in the last scene, a man both Ted and Lucy see for themselves, as the same man who Martha saw watching her in the lake, and gets into the same car Martha broke the window to, it becomes horrifyingly clear Martha’s memories are accurate. Understanding her experience in the cult was real, the question becomes did Martha knowingly led the cult to her family’s home to kill Lucy and Ted, or did she not piece the cult’s plan together until the end?
One of the most supportable interpretation is that Martha wanted to escape the cult and genuinely thought she had succeeded, in large part because Lucy unexpectedly took her to Connecticut, not New York. The day after arriving at the lake house, Martha interrogates her sister about their location, asking, “How far are we?” Lucy responds, “From what?” Martha clarifies, “Yesterday.” Naively, Martha may have hoped everyone was safe from danger in Connecticut and the cult would lose interest if they were unable to find her. Yet, the trauma of the cult continues to make Martha paranoid and fearful. Toward the end of the film, Martha has a breakdown when she thinks the bartender at her sister’s party is a member of the cult. Although it is unclear whether the bartender is actually with the cult, from that moment on Martha realizes the cult is close and will certainly narrow in on Lucy and Ted. She tells Lucy and Ted repeatedly, “We have to leave. We all have to leave.” Seemingly, Martha pieces everything together at the end, but it is too late.
Certainly, this is not the only possible interpretation of Martha Marcy May Marlene. The film’s ambiguity not only confirms other interpretations exist, but also that no one interpretation can ever be correct. While the film is dense and profoundly complicated, at its core Martha Marcy May Marlene is not trying to be a difficult film. Truly, it is not. Although it may seem, at times, overdone or unnecessarily complex—somewhat similar to what Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan did last year—Martha Marcy May Marlene is trying to evoke from the audience the same emotions as its protagonist. Martha is brainwashed, and she cannot decipher reality from imagination. This leaves her feeling disconnected, confused, frustrated, and frightened. These are the same feeling audience members have while viewing Martha Marcy May Marlene. Thus, there is a method to Durkin’s madness.
A very special THANK YOU to Tara Bartram for countless conversations about Martha Marcy May Marlene and the invaluable insight which made this post possible!
Is it possible that the reason why Martha freaked out when the brother-in-law touched her was planned and she kicked him down the stairs to distract them from the person (or possibly persons) trying to get into the house? Similar to how one of the male cult members turned on the treadmill in order to leave the house.
Anonymous said this on 31/01/2013 at 11:04 PM |
Totally possible!
Kate Bellmore said this on 17/02/2013 at 9:16 PM |
remember when M kicked her brother in law down the stairs and he was in front of the glass patio doors – someone quickly ran by outside
Anonymous said this on 14/10/2012 at 2:39 AM |
there was no one running by outside,you are mistaken.
jj said this on 19/03/2013 at 9:44 PM |
I think Mollie is close but I don’t think when Martha calls the cult that it is FUTURE to the ending of the film. I believe if you look at what is written on the wall next to the phone when Marcey May answers it from the cult compound earlier you will see that there are specific instructions to “Ask 3 questions – repeat name- take message- and then Marlene Lewis – Marlene Lewis” She does just that at that time and then she hands the phone to one of the male cult members and he confirms the time. A code for when to rob a place. So when Martha makes her call from Ted and Lucy’s she does the same scripted responses but doesn’t finish the call properly. She was acting on the cults influence and gave away her location but only because of her broken mental state and has set up the very thing she didn’t want which was having the cult knowing her location. She is driven to this because of the teachings of the cult conflicting with the materialism of Ted and Lucy which the cult ultimately feeds on. Brilliant.
PC said this on 23/09/2012 at 1:05 AM |
I am so grateful for this space as I have not felt compelled in so long to write about a film. This is a brave cinematic endeavor and is worth this continued dialogue!
Questions in film: Private and public control. Identity. Values. Love. Survival.
When the leader of the isolated Catskills(?) community tells M. “Next time he will expect less of her” and the placement of that scene towards the end of the film exposes a lot of how her role in the cults hierarchy becomes defined. To remain the “favorite” as he calls her, she must continue to provide essentials for the groups existence. The phone call she makes after the dinner table fight with her sister and brother in law is in intrinsic behavior that sets all plans in motion either innocent or otherwise. In play writing this is the arc or the tragic flaw depending on whose reading. For me, it is hard to believe that she was only living in the “cult” for two years (as suggested in the scripts exposition) as M.’s relationship to the ideals and roles seem so natural and defined. I would be very curious as to how the director and script writers researched cults from a psychological standpoint. (How long does brainwashing take?) But that’s a whole different discussion.
Lets look at the given behaviors within the narrative. M. (I call her M. very kafkaesque i know, but does she even know who she is? c’mon!) firmly believes in the values shared by “cult” members a.) clothing and other material goods are Unnecessary b.) occupation means more than career and fiscal wealth. c.) sexuality must be shared unselfishly. She at times wishes to educate these values to her sister and brother in law. Take a look at the garden scene at the lake house, M. is very sure of her role as gardener, “this was my place where I lived.” On one hand she is struggling with this transition back to a different reality with her sister, but she is still confident in her role within a different version of reality. I think the best collision of these controlled experiences happens with the juxtaposition within the film of M. drugging a new member during a cult initiation rite, and then her own eventual drugging by her sister and brother and law at the doomed house party towards the end of the film. This was very much done on purpose and exposes the questions of values. Who is right? Are we allowed to believe in the loving reality of the Catskills farm? Or, the loving reality of the CT lake house? You decide.
What makes me firmly believe she is still working with the Catskilis community/commune/cult is when she displays a repetitive use of maternal imagery and dialogue. When she announces to her sister “You will be a bad mother” on the stairwell and earlier in the film laughs at her brother and law as he shares with her his desire to have children-we must look into this strongly. Why is this dialogue necessary? Both times M. criticizes her sisters birthing efforts are at different points in the characters arc. She is confident in her sisters inability to love as she has now learned to love. What we have in this is a raw exposed volcanic implosion of world views. In my own words, “Your view on motherhood is wrong.” Does this at all sound familiar to current politics on motherhood and women’s bodily rights in general? Just remember the other scene at the farm, when M. is holding another member’s baby and she calms it immediately, the new member says to M. “You are so good with him”. Yes, Yes she is. This feeds into the psychological playback within the film. We must accept this not only as a memory but as a driving mechanism for her to do harm to others. Her justification : “My sister will not be a good mother”.
Now obviously I do not support dangerous communities or mindsets nor do i support theft or murder–these are radical choices within the narrative of the screenplay that supports the plausible unknowns of the ending. I do believe we are supposed to question M.s life in coordination with other traditional ways of life. There are numerous ways to live, thrive and be and this film beautifully exposes how inevitably it all comes down to how we define love defines us and gives us power.
Laura Baum said this on 04/09/2012 at 5:09 PM |
I had always been confused about the ending of the movie and whether it was them following her or not. Whether it was a memory or reality. But after watching it again and again I realized that it was them following her although I had no idea why. When I read this post, I agreed with what you were saying, that possibly they were after her for her families money. The scene with the SUV took me for a loop because I never really knew what it was about or how that SUV got there. I have to say, that although this was a confusing movie, it was beautifully written! Thanks for the insight
LaBreaB said this on 03/09/2012 at 8:07 PM |
I don’t see how your opinion that they let her go to break into her sister and brother in law’s house makes much sense. I mean how would they have known where she was going?
Marcus said this on 01/09/2012 at 3:34 PM |
I think it is within reason that she was followed all along. Perhaps that is why he let her leave the diner in the beginning. This is a very complicated and ambiguous film. I am not convinced they did know where she was going/was, but I am convinced it is within reason.
Kate Bellmore said this on 09/09/2012 at 7:47 PM |
This is my absolute first time ever posting or replying (whatever the proper tech term is) on a blog site, so please forgive my ignorance up front. I must agree with many others here – your interpretation of Martha, Marcy, MM is wonderfully written.
My question is why did she (Martha) call the cult? What could she have been trying to accomplish? Was she really trying to reach Sally? Was she going coordinate with the cult (for those that think she was in cahoots with them)? Was she trying to solidify its existence in her faltering psyché? I’m stumped.
Thank you for your time. I hope I’ve done this properly.
Carrie~ said this on 26/08/2012 at 8:02 PM |
Those are all GREAT questions, and I don’t have any solid answers for you; the film’s ambiguity leaves room for a lot of interpretation. Part of me thinks she called because she was confused and torn about leaving the cult, especially when she was so obviously not fitting in with her family, but that’s just a thought, not an answer. Thanks for your comments, and keep thinking about MMMM, sounds like your wheels are really turning! K
Kate Bellmore said this on 26/08/2012 at 9:45 PM |
Thank you for your insights! I also saw the movie now on video, I don’t think it ever showed live in my country.
I thought about it a lot afterwards. Martha personifies a problem of our day and time. Martha is a type.
Because of broken family structures and absent or emotionally disconnected fathers, the result is young people who do not know who they are and where they belong. The pain of not belonging is so strong, that it becomes a driving force. Some or driven to the “cult groups” of “drugs”. Joining the “herion” club is like finding a place of belonging with people whom you share a certain lifestyle, feelings and value system with. Others go for religious cults. Others just settle for controlling, manipulating even abusive boyfriends that takes their lives but give them the pay off that at least they belong somewhere, with someone.
What originally clashes with the inner witness of a heart, that it is wrong and dehumanising behaviour, later becomes more and more acceptable, until the gentle inner voice inside becomes so quenched and pushed aside, that it is no longer heard and inwardly the victom becomes dead. Now almost anything goes.
The brotherhood gives a false sense of identity, boundaries are pushed till there is no more, the sense of where my life and my identity ends and yours begin becomes blurred, and the person that “leads” the pact gets to push his “distorted” value system unto all the rest. Now its just about surviving one more day, with the minimum pain, and confronting painful things is pain, facing the realities of life is pain, so living the lie some more, often gets preferred. Money is a thing that others now should “provide for me”, what I need to focus on is surviving one more day and avoiding more pain for me. So it goes.
In our time of vulnerability, whether emotionally, or otherwise, where fear and uncertainty abides, the breeding ground for brainwashing and mind control is ideal. Just thinking about Hitler brainwashing millions of highly intelligent Germans, to think and operate exactly how he wanted them to. They became the “special group”, the “inn group”, agains the jews and later the rest of the world. They belonged now, to something greater than themselves, their lives now had meaning, slaughtering millions of jews started to become strangely acceptable and the line between good and evil became so twistedly blurred.
That is how the demonic works.
Martha is not just an isolated story. It may be a little extreme. But if you look close enough, you may even see your neighbour, your friend, your daughter or even your very self in her. Believing twisted lies and taking the bate of the enemy that poses as a friend, even as a safe place, at first that is. Until one is trapped.
Running to the Light and embracing Truth, rather than tollerating demonic teachings like “truth is all relative and its whatever you want it to be”, is the first step to finding wholeness. Not only for Martha, but for society at large.
Yessy said this on 25/08/2012 at 8:56 AM |
Thank you for your insights! I also saw the movie now on video, I don’t think it ever showed live in my country.
I thought about it a lot afterwards. Martha personifies a problem of our day and time. Martha is a type.
Because of broken family structures and absent or emotionally disconnected fathers, the result is young people who do not know who they are and where they belong. The pain of not belonging is so strong, that it becomes a driving force. Some or driven to the “cult groups” of “drugs”. Joining the “drug” club is like finding a place of belonging with people whom you share a certain lifestyle, feelings and value system with. Others go for religious cults. Others just settle for controlling, manipulating even abusive boyfriends that takes their lives but give them the pay off that at least they belong somewhere, with someone.
What originally clashes with the inner witness of a heart, that it is wrong and dehumanising behaviour, later becomes more and more acceptable, until the gentle inner voice inside becomes so quenched and pushed aside, that it is no longer heard and inwardly the victom becomes dead. Now almost anything goes.
The brotherhood gives a false sense of identity, boundaries are pushed till there is no more, the sense of where my life and my identity ends and your begin becomes blurred, and the person that “leads” the pact gets to push his “distorted” value system unto all the rest.
In our time of vulnerability, whether emotionally, or otherwise, where fear and uncertainty abides, the breeding ground for brainwashing and mind control is ideal. Just thinking about Hitler brainwashing millions of highly intelligent Germans, to think and operate exactly how he wanted them to. They became the “special group”, the “inn group”, agains the jews and later the rest of the world. They belonged now, to something greater than themselves, their lives now had meaning, slaughtering millions of jews started to become strangely acceptable and the line between good and evil became so twistedly blurred.
That is how the demonic works.
Martha is not just an isolated story. It may be a little extreme. But if you look close enough, you may even see your neighbour, your friend, your daughter or even your very self in her. Believing twisted lies and taking the bate of the enemy that poses as a friend, even as a safe place, at first that is. Until one is trapped.
Running to the light and embracing truth, rather than tollerating demonic teachings like “truth is all absolute and its whatever you want it to be”, is the first step to finding wholeness. Not only for Martha, but for society at large.
Yessy said this on 25/08/2012 at 8:43 AM |
Doesn’t really work for me. I think that, between the indoctrination and drugs given her, she’s become schizophrenic and can’t tell reality from fantasy and fear. The ending just tells me that she can’t share or acknowledge her demons.
Anonymous said this on 29/07/2012 at 1:56 PM |
I can see that; I think that works too. Either way this is a horror film. I think you are reading it like The Shining, when the person becomes the monster (which is terrifying), and I am reading it in a more Helter Skelter way. Thanks for the comment; I like when people challenge my ideas about film by explaining a different take…its helps me expand my thinking!
Kate Bellmore said this on 29/07/2012 at 9:57 PM |
When I read this interview, it leads me to believe there are no twists:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/sean-durkin-and-elizabeth-olsen,63558/
NJtoTX said this on 30/07/2012 at 1:20 PM
Nice take.
david nerlich said this on 20/07/2012 at 4:31 PM |
Thank you
Kate Bellmore said this on 29/07/2012 at 9:58 PM |
Thanks for this. Your post and the comments have certainly help me better understand the ending of this movie. Well done
Brennan Arrold said this on 25/06/2012 at 6:11 AM |
Wow! I hadn’t even considered this interpretation of the film (that M was maybe helping the cult case the couple)–very unique. Well written post! I wish this film had received more attention.
Ashley in Morocco said this on 07/06/2012 at 12:26 PM |
Thanks so much, and I am with you…this film was WAY TOO GOOD to be so overlooked!
Kate Bellmore said this on 29/07/2012 at 10:06 PM |
Great flick, whacky ending… Yes, cult catching up, but shown following, then member appears walking next to car and gets in chase vehicle in driver’s seat? Where was he first? Who was driving? Very abrupt and ambiguous end to a solid flick about a creepy topic…
Anonymous said this on 06/06/2012 at 1:13 AM |
Martha went back to the cult in the end. We don’t know what happened to Ted and Lucy, but we can guess it wasn’t good. The scene toward the end, when “Martha” answers the phone and calls herself Marlene is FUTURE to the ending in the car. (The time shifts have been set up all along.) And the song that plays over the titles at the end is the same song he sang earlier, but now he is singing it to Marlene. She went from Martha, to Marcy May, and finally she is fully indoctrinated as Marlene.
Mollie said this on 28/05/2012 at 1:21 PM |
I think you need a captcha for your comments, because most on this page are clearly auto-generated / by bots. But more importantly, thank you for the post — it is one of the clearest discussions of the MMMM ending I’ve found.
KP said this on 25/05/2012 at 12:18 PM |
Not the SAME CAR !!! Note the lack of roof rack. Note there is no bumper guard.
Anonymous said this on 29/04/2012 at 1:07 AM |
Noted. And, perhaps, touche. But, I still stand behind my claim. What is your take on the film’s ending?
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Bill said this on 02/01/2012 at 11:27 AM |
Sadly, the film is not out in theatres any longer (at least around here). It was in a out rather quickly, as some of the best are
However, if it gets any Oscar attention in the next few weeks it will likely be rereleased for the masses. Fingers crossed!
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