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* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: This sums up the entire film. It is one of the few non-silent films that does not use or need extensive dialogue to explain what is going on. A great example in this troper's opinion is when Ted tells Martha how long she had been gone. The look on Martha's face is a mix of shock and horror; she had no idea.
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A 2012 independent PsychologicalThriller film, written and directed by first-timer Sean Durkin and starring Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson and Hugh Dancy.
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A 2012 2011 independent PsychologicalThriller film, written and directed by first-timer Sean Durkin and starring Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson and Hugh Dancy.
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* RippedFromTheHeadlines: The cult is loosely inspired by the [[CharlesManson Manson "family"]].
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* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: The cult is loosely inspired by the [[CharlesManson Manson "family"]].
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* NeverTrustATrailer: Several of the movie's trailers make it appear to be much more fast paced and action heavy than it is.
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* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: Martha for large pars of the film in the present day.
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* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: Martha for large pars parts of the film in the present day.
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* NothingIsScarier: There are numerous scenes which are impossibly tense despite the fact that practically nothing is happening onscreen.
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* AffablyEvil: Patrick is extremely charismatic and friendly, which only makes him that bit more terrifying.
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* AffablyEvil: Patrick is extremely charismatic and friendly, which only makes him that bit more terrifying.even ''more'' terrifying than he would otherwise be.
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* AffablyEvil: Patrick is extremely charismatic and friendly, which only makes him that bit more terrifying.
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* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The film goes out of its way to highlight how Martha's relationship with Patrick is akin to an abusive, romantic one. She ''also'' sees him as a father figure. Commence {{Squick}} now.
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* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The film goes out of its way to highlight how Martha's relationship with Patrick is akin to an abusive, romantic one.one (for example, she never tells Lucy that she was involved with a cult, insisting that the last two years were merely spent with a boyfriend who lied to her). She ''also'' sees him as a father figure. Commence {{Squick}} now.
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* RaisedByWolves: Martha has been a member of the cult for so long that she's forgotten all about basic social niceties such as not climbing into bed with your sister [[{{Squick}} while she's having sex her husband]].
* RapeAsDrama: How Patrick inducts women into the cult.
* RapeAsDrama: How Patrick inducts women into the cult.
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* RaisedByWolves: Martha has been a member of the cult for so long that she's forgotten all about basic social niceties such as not climbing into bed with your sister [[{{Squick}} while she's having sex with her husband]].
*RapeAsDrama: How RapeAsDrama
** RapeIsLove: The cult insists that being raped by Patrickinducts women into the cult.is really this.
*
** RapeIsLove: The cult insists that being raped by Patrick
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* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: It's left ambiguous as to whether Martha really is being followed by members of the cult or not. Additionally, it's hinted that some of her memories of the cult might be distorted or outright imagined.
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* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: It's left ambiguous as to whether Martha really is being followed by members of the cult or not. Additionally, it's hinted (as the page quote indicates) that some of her memories of the cult might be distorted or outright imagined.
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->''"Do you ever have that feeling where you can't tell if something's a memory or if it's something you dreamed?"
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->''"Do you ever have that feeling where you can't tell if something's a memory or if it's something you dreamed?"
dreamed?"''
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->''"Do you ever have that feeling where you can't tell if something's a memory or if it's something you dreamed?"
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* MentalStory: A good half of the film consists of Martha's memories (which may or may not be entirely accurate).
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* RippedFromTheHeadlines: The cult is loosely inspired by the [[CharlesManson Manson "family"]].
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* UnreliableNarrator: See ThroughTheEyesOfMadness.
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* MeaningfulRename: Patrick gives all the female members of the cult (and presumably the men too) new names upon their joining.
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* SexAsRiteOfPassage: Part of the induction process for the female members is to have sex with Patrick.
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* PaintingTheFourthWall: One of the only fade-outs in the film comes when Lucy and Ted give Martha tranquillizers to help her sleep when she becomes hysterical at a party. The film fades out as she starts to fall asleep.
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The film was well-received, with critics particularly praising the unsettling storyline and the performances by Olsen and Hawkes, with many especially surprised by Olsen's performance, considering who her [[MaryKateAndAshleyOlsen sisters]] are (in his review, RogerEbert quipped that "Elizabeth Olsen can know that no one will ever ask, 'Which one is she?'").
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The film was well-received, with critics picking up a directorial award at Sundance. Critics particularly praising praised the unsettling storyline and the performances by Olsen and Hawkes, with many especially surprised by Olsen's performance, considering who her [[MaryKateAndAshleyOlsen sisters]] are (in his review, RogerEbert quipped that "Elizabeth Olsen can know that no one will ever ask, 'Which one is she?'").
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A 2012 PsychologicalThriller film, written and directed by first-timer Sean Durkin and starring Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson and Hugh Dancy.
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A 2012 independent PsychologicalThriller film, written and directed by first-timer Sean Durkin and starring Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson and Hugh Dancy.
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* {{Brainwashed}}: In the traditional sense. Even after Martha has grown disillusioned with the cult and escaped, she still finds herself reciting their beliefs verbatim at times.
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* MysteryCult: Martha doesn't seem to really know much about what the cult believes in when she joins.
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* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Some of the things the cult believes in are merely offensive and backward, but others are so bizarre that they fall straight into this trope.
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* DullEyesOfUnhappiness: Martha for large pars of the film in the present day.
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* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The film goes out of its way to highlight how Martha's relationship with Patrick is akin to an abusive, romantic one. She ''also'' sees him as a father figure. Commence {{Squick}} now.
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* DroneOfDread: A large portion of the soundtrack.
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The film was well-received, with critics particularly praising the unsettling storyline and the performances by Olsen and Hawkes, with many expressing particular surprise at the former, considering who Elizabeth Olsen's [[MaryKateAndAshleyOlsen sisters]] are (in his review, RogerEbert quipped that "Elizabeth Olsen can know that no one will ever ask, 'Which one is she?'").
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The film was well-received, with critics particularly praising the unsettling storyline and the performances by Olsen and Hawkes, with many expressing particular surprise at the former, especially surprised by Olsen's performance, considering who Elizabeth Olsen's her [[MaryKateAndAshleyOlsen sisters]] are (in his review, RogerEbert quipped that "Elizabeth Olsen can know that no one will ever ask, 'Which one is she?'").
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* IntentionallyAwkwardTitle: While not offensive, the title's certainly a bit of a mouthful.
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[[quoteright:314:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/martha_marcy_may_marlene_5791.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:314:What? No, I'm [[BlatantLies absolutely fine, I swear.]]]]
A 2012 PsychologicalThriller film, written and directed by first-timer Sean Durkin and starring Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson and Hugh Dancy.
It concerns itself with a young woman named Martha (Olsen), who calls her estranged sister Lucy (Paulson) in a panic, asking her to collect her from a small town in the Catskill Mountains. Lucy does so, and Martha goes to stay with Lucy and her husband Ted (Dancy). Unbeknownst to either of them, Martha has been a member of a sinister hippie cult for the past two years, led by the charismatic but mysterious Patrick (Hawkes). Her experiences with the cult are revealed in flashback.
The film was well-received, with critics particularly praising the unsettling storyline and the performances by Olsen and Hawkes, with many expressing particular surprise at the former, considering who Elizabeth Olsen's [[MaryKateAndAshleyOlsen sisters]] are (in his review, RogerEbert quipped that "Elizabeth Olsen can know that no one will ever ask, 'Which one is she?'").
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!!Tropes in the film:
* BolivianArmyEnding: The film ends with Lucy and Ted driving Martha [[spoiler:to a mental hospital, with another car driving behind them. The car may or may not be driven by one of the members of the cult.]]
* BreakTheCutie: Martha herself.
* HowWeGotHere: The film alternates between Martha in the present and flashbacks to her time with the cult.
* IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten: It's a test of loyalty rather than evil-ness, but otherwise follows this trope practically to the letter.
* InterruptedIntimacy: See RaisedByWolves.
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: The cult initially seems like a fairly harmless bunch of hippies, with some at least defensible ideas about leaving behind material possessions and cleansing one's body of toxins. But they are soon revealed to be [[ItGotWorse much nastier than that]].
* NotUsingTheZWord: The word "cult" is never mentioned in the film.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Patrick, and by extension the cult, believe in some decidedly... ''traditional'' views of gender roles.
* ProperlyParanoid: It's left ambiguous as to whether Martha is this or just flat-out paranoid.
* RaisedByWolves: Martha has been a member of the cult for so long that she's forgotten all about basic social niceties such as not climbing into bed with your sister [[{{Squick}} while she's having sex her husband]].
* RapeAsDrama: How Patrick inducts women into the cult.
* SanitySlippage: Martha initially doesn't come across as particularly upset by her experiences with the cult (although she's ''very'' eager to leave them behind), but over the course of the film the audience soon learns that she is much more traumatised by her experiences than she first appears.
* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: It's left ambiguous as to whether Martha really is being followed by members of the cult or not. Additionally, it's hinted that some of her memories of the cult might be distorted or outright imagined.
* UnusualEuphemism: Martha has been a member of the cult for several weeks, but Patrick says that to properly embrace the cult she'll need to let her guard down and "share" herself.
* WordSaladTitle: Although ItMakesSenseInContext. Martha is the protagonist's real name and "Marcy May" is what Patrick christens her upon her induction into the cult. Additionally, when answering the phone, all male members of the cult are instructed to use the name "Matthew Lewis" so as to avoid revealing their identities, while all female members are to go by "Marlene Lewis".
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[[caption-width-right:314:What? No, I'm [[BlatantLies absolutely fine, I swear.]]]]
A 2012 PsychologicalThriller film, written and directed by first-timer Sean Durkin and starring Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson and Hugh Dancy.
It concerns itself with a young woman named Martha (Olsen), who calls her estranged sister Lucy (Paulson) in a panic, asking her to collect her from a small town in the Catskill Mountains. Lucy does so, and Martha goes to stay with Lucy and her husband Ted (Dancy). Unbeknownst to either of them, Martha has been a member of a sinister hippie cult for the past two years, led by the charismatic but mysterious Patrick (Hawkes). Her experiences with the cult are revealed in flashback.
The film was well-received, with critics particularly praising the unsettling storyline and the performances by Olsen and Hawkes, with many expressing particular surprise at the former, considering who Elizabeth Olsen's [[MaryKateAndAshleyOlsen sisters]] are (in his review, RogerEbert quipped that "Elizabeth Olsen can know that no one will ever ask, 'Which one is she?'").
----
!!Tropes in the film:
* BolivianArmyEnding: The film ends with Lucy and Ted driving Martha [[spoiler:to a mental hospital, with another car driving behind them. The car may or may not be driven by one of the members of the cult.]]
* BreakTheCutie: Martha herself.
* HowWeGotHere: The film alternates between Martha in the present and flashbacks to her time with the cult.
* IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten: It's a test of loyalty rather than evil-ness, but otherwise follows this trope practically to the letter.
* InterruptedIntimacy: See RaisedByWolves.
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: The cult initially seems like a fairly harmless bunch of hippies, with some at least defensible ideas about leaving behind material possessions and cleansing one's body of toxins. But they are soon revealed to be [[ItGotWorse much nastier than that]].
* NotUsingTheZWord: The word "cult" is never mentioned in the film.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Patrick, and by extension the cult, believe in some decidedly... ''traditional'' views of gender roles.
* ProperlyParanoid: It's left ambiguous as to whether Martha is this or just flat-out paranoid.
* RaisedByWolves: Martha has been a member of the cult for so long that she's forgotten all about basic social niceties such as not climbing into bed with your sister [[{{Squick}} while she's having sex her husband]].
* RapeAsDrama: How Patrick inducts women into the cult.
* SanitySlippage: Martha initially doesn't come across as particularly upset by her experiences with the cult (although she's ''very'' eager to leave them behind), but over the course of the film the audience soon learns that she is much more traumatised by her experiences than she first appears.
* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: It's left ambiguous as to whether Martha really is being followed by members of the cult or not. Additionally, it's hinted that some of her memories of the cult might be distorted or outright imagined.
* UnusualEuphemism: Martha has been a member of the cult for several weeks, but Patrick says that to properly embrace the cult she'll need to let her guard down and "share" herself.
* WordSaladTitle: Although ItMakesSenseInContext. Martha is the protagonist's real name and "Marcy May" is what Patrick christens her upon her induction into the cult. Additionally, when answering the phone, all male members of the cult are instructed to use the name "Matthew Lewis" so as to avoid revealing their identities, while all female members are to go by "Marlene Lewis".
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