Fox Searchlight’s “Martha Marcy May Marlene” opens in limited release later this week. The film is one of unraveling mystery, immaculately crafted and precisely performed. It’s a rousing debut accomplishment for filmmaker Sean Durkin and one that could sustain the long march from Sundance (where the film premiered in January) to Oscar night.
It’s certainly deserving in areas like Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing, but I think it’s best chances are for Best Actress (the brilliant Elizabeth Olsen) and Best Original Screenplay. But I imagine Durkin and Olsen, at the very least, will be receiving breakthrough notices all season.
Fox Searchlight has given us an exclusive featurette that takes you behind the scenes of the making of the film. Interviews with Durkin, Olsen, actors John Hawkes, Hugh Dancy, Sarah Paulson and more are included. Click on through to have a look.
(Be sure to check back tomorrow for an Olsen-inspired list of the greatest debut performances of all time, and later in the week for an interview with Olsen and Hawkes about their work in the film. Guy, meanwhile, will be chatting with Durkin from the London Film Festival some time soon.)