Martha Marcy May Marlene

Martha Marcy May Marlene has quietly become one of the more dependable crime dramas currently available. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Elizabeth Olsen sets the tone, and the ensemble matches it scene for scene. Put it on tonight and see for yourself.

Martha Marcy May Marlene arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. Martha Marcy May Marlene treats its mystery as a means, not an end in itself. 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. Elizabeth Olsen and Sarah Paulson lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2011. What makes Martha Marcy May Marlene hold up is that the resolution matters less than how the characters get there. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

If you cannot walk away from a good mystery, Martha Marcy May Marlene will keep you hooked. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Elizabeth Olsen anchors it, but the writing does the real work. If you are going to commit to one crime drama this month, make it this one.