I know I’m practically shaking to see Paul Thomas Anderson take on a charismatic Scientologist-type, but it looks like we won’t have to wait that long to see a fantastic character actor chew it up as a cult leader, even if it’s as someone quite different than Hubbard.
A film that earned stellar reviews from Sundance, Martha Marcy May Marlene (a tongue twister of a title if there ever was one) is a film that feels like this year’s Winter Bone if you will, purely in the sense that it’s a small film about an isolated environment that features amazing performances by John Hawkes and a breakout young actress… This is a whole different kind of story though, as a woman attempts to escape the mental, emotional, and literal clutches of a disturbingly charming man and his followers.
The trailer is available in HD from Apple, and it’s definitely worth a look. Hawkes is menacing, Elizabeth Olson (yes, she is the younger sister of Mary Kate and Ashley) looks to be a strong new performer, and the tone of the film (if it’s anything like the trailer) is the kind of subtly disturbing thickness that I enjoy so much. Hitting on October 7th, this definitely looks like a good chaser to the summer movie season, sporting a narrative that is apparently as difficult to mentally unravel as it is to stomach.
Olsen can also be spotted in the US remake of The Silent House, a DSLR-shot “one take” foreign horror film from last year.
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(via /Film)
