pokoke film

What’s in a name? In the festival circuit breakout, MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE , the heroine has four of them. Meanwhile, the actress who plays her has a name you’ve likely never heard before. With five films being released over the next year and mounting awards season buzz for her first though, you will know the name, Elizabeth Olsen, soon enough and you’ll be hearing it for a long time to follow as well. “I try not to think about things like momentum and trying to act fast while things are hot,” Olsen tells me, over the phone, after I suggest that things are indeed hot for her right now. “I’m just going to try to continue making choices based on script, character, project, who’s involved, rather than try to jump on some sort of momentum.” Olsen as Martha, Marcy May or Marlene Her choices thus far have been pretty sound or at least have the potential to be. Her upcoming projects include working with filmmakers like Bruce Beresford ( DRIVING MISS DAISY ), Rodrigo Cortes ( BURIED ) and Jo...

Written and Directed by Sean Durkin Starring Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, Hugh Dancy and John Hawkes Martha: Do you ever have that feeling where you can’t tell if something’s a memory or if it’s something you dreamed? Instantly uncomfortable,  MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE , is unlike any experience I’ve had at the movies. It is at times both eerily quiet and dishearteningly noisy; it is painfully present but yet also lost in a haze of what is real and what is imagined. It inspires great sympathy and even greater anxiety. Its tension is palpable and its style is distinct and effective.  MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE  is a truly accomplished piece of filmmaking from writer-director, Sean Durkin, a first time feature filmmaker. With that in mind, it is just plain shocking across the board. As skillful as Durkin proves to be, he has help, led by a star-making turn from lead actress, Elizabeth Olsen. Olsen, who incidentally is the younger sibling of Mary-Kate and Ashley (and I’m sur...

Written and Directed by Sean Durkin Starring Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, Hugh Dancy and John Hawkes Martha: Do you ever have that feeling where you can’t tell if something’s a memory or if it’s something you dreamed?  Instantly uncomfortable, MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE , is unlike any experience I’ve had at the movies. It is at times both eerily quiet and dishearteningly noisy; it is painfully present but yet also lost in a haze of what is real and what is imagined. It inspires great sympathy and even greater anxiety. Its tension is palpable and its style is distinct and effective. MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE is a truly accomplished piece of filmmaking from writer-director, Sean Durkin, a first time feature filmmaker. With that in mind, it is just plain shocking across the board. As skillful as Durkin proves to be, he has help, led by a star-making turn from lead actress, Elizabeth Olsen. Olsen, who incidentally is the younger sibling of Mary-Kate and Ashley (and I’m sure never tir...