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Dec 31, 2014Nursebob rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
After running away from a backwoods cult in upper New York state twenty-something Martha, tight-lipped and badly damaged, moves in with her sister and wealthy brother-in-law at their sprawling lakeside cottage. At first content to be away from the sinister mind-controlling influences of “the family” and it’s madly charismatic leader, Martha soon realizes that simply putting miles between her and them is not going to be enough as traumatic memories begin surfacing unbidden and the cult’s warped philosophy continues to cloud her own perceptions of reality. Puzzled by her younger sister’s bizarre behaviour Lucy and husband Ted try to make sense of Martha’s mood swings and odd conversational twists (there is an unspoken history between the sisters) until a series of violent outbursts prompts more drastic action. Sean Durkin’s remarkably controlled film tracing the disintegration of one young woman’s psyche plays out like a waking nightmare laced with paranoia and confusion. Jumping back and forth in time, and occasionally superimposing different timelines on top of each other, he gives us cause to question our own perceptions of what is really happening right up to the film’s darkly ambivalent final scenes; are these memories, delusions, or both? Aided by dreamlike cinematography and solid performances his story creeps under your skin and stays there after the houselights come up.