Martha Marcy May Marlene

"You can get away, but you can never escape."

2011 1h 41m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 853

DramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After several years of living with a cult, Martha finally escapes and calls her estranged sister, Lucy, for help. Martha finds herself at the quiet Connecticut home Lucy shares with her new husband, Ted, but the memories of what she experienced in the cult make peace hard to find. As flashbacks continue to torment her, Martha fails to shake a terrible sense of dread, especially in regard to the cult's manipulative leader.

“You can get away, but you can never escape.”

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Cast

Elizabeth Olsen
Martha
Sarah Paulson
Lucy
Hugh Dancy
Ted
John Hawkes
Patrick
Brady Corbet
Watts
Louisa Krause
Zoe
Christopher Abbott
Max
Maria Dizzia
Katie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sean Durkin
Writers: Sean Durkin
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 15 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sean Durkin, shot by Jody Lee Lipes. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Danny Bensi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Zachary Stuart-Pontier shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Elizabeth Olsen and Sarah Paulson and Hugh Dancy carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "You can get away, but you can never escape.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sean Durkin directs. Jody Lee Lipes behind the camera. Danny Bensi scores. Zachary Stuart-Pontier cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 3.5× over at the box office.
3Released 15 years ago.
4Directed by Sean Durkin, shot by Jody Lee Lipes. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Danny Bensi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Zachary Stuart-Pontier shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Elizabeth Olsen and Sarah Paulson and Hugh Dancy carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "You can get away, but you can never escape.".
9IMDB entry: tt1441326 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 23 themes, including "mind control", "rape", "sexual abuse", "sibling relationship".