If last year the Oscar story centered around the breakout performance by Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone,” Fox Searchlight is hoping the awards season narrative this fall will focus on Elizabeth Olsen in “Martha Marcy May Marlene” and certainly, she deserves it.
Yes, the younger sister of the famous twins, she leads Sean Durkin‘s writing and directing feature debut with a steely verve. Co-starring Sarah Paulson, Hugh Dancy and John Hawkes, the film tells the story of a young woman who flees a cult and deals with the paranoia and anxiety that still linger. The film is a mood piece that rests entirely on its central character and Elizabeth Olsen is nothing short of breathtaking in the part. While this writer is not quite as enraptured by the film as those who saw it at Sundance, there is no denying that Olsen arrives in a major way with her performance — it’s simply one of the best this year. This new U.K. trailer for the film, like the stateside trailers that preceded it, nicely captures the eerie and compelling tone of the film without giving up the game.
“Martha Marcy May Marlene” opens on October 21st in the U.S. and in early 2012 in the U.K. Check out the trailer and the lovely new poster below. [Empire]
