Martha escapes from a violent cult in rural America and tries to rekindle a relationship with her estranged sister, Lucy, and her sister's husband, Ted. Due to the brainwashing or development she endured emotionally for the two years she was in the cult, Martha, has trouble engaging with others socially and she has trouble establishing healthy relationships with her sister or her sister's husband. The severity of her emotional detachment causes her sister, Lucy, to wonder what kind of trauma and how deep it went with Martha.
This movie was difficult to watch at first, not just because of the abusive subject matter, but because it kept flipping back and forth between the present and the past, the cult life and the life Martha was trying to establish after leaving the cult. There were times when I wasn't sure if I were watching what was happening now or what had happened in the past. It was not always easy to follow what was going on. I also thought that the beginning of the movie didn't really establish well enough how Martha got drawn into the cult, how she was recruited, why she joined, or what caused her to stay.
After leaving the cult Martha seems detached from reality and very child-like, not understanding how social morals work. Lucy and Ted are obviously confused and a little angry as to why Martha acts the way she does, especially when she tries to climb into bed with them while they are having sex (she doesn't try to join she just wants to sleep near them). While a little slow to develop and a little confusing because of the present/past changes, this movie does give a little insight into how difficult it might be to leave a cult and try to build a regular life again. Also the troubled relationship between Martha and Lucy does make you feel sympathetic towards both characters.
Once she leaves the cult it doesn't mean that the cult has let her go and Martha realizes at the end of the movie she may never really be free.
This movie has it's ups and downs, it isn't one of the best movies I've ever seen, and the ending didn't satisfy me, however, it was an interesting movie. Yes, it was hard to follow because of all of the back and forth, the relationship between the sisters made me continue to watch. This isn't a satisfying movie however, and doesn't really give much insight into the characters before the disappearance of Martha into the cult. Lucy never even learns that Martha was in a cult, she just knows something terrible happened to her sister and she needs help.
The interesting part of the movie, the strained relationship of the sisters, developed enough to let me feel like it was possible for the sisters to have a normal relationship in the future. This movie also made me wonder about leaving the life of a cult. The trauma one suffers at the hands of a cult is very deep and the ripples are probably forever.
This movie was difficult to watch at first, not just because of the abusive subject matter, but because it kept flipping back and forth between the present and the past, the cult life and the life Martha was trying to establish after leaving the cult. There were times when I wasn't sure if I were watching what was happening now or what had happened in the past. It was not always easy to follow what was going on. I also thought that the beginning of the movie didn't really establish well enough how Martha got drawn into the cult, how she was recruited, why she joined, or what caused her to stay.
After leaving the cult Martha seems detached from reality and very child-like, not understanding how social morals work. Lucy and Ted are obviously confused and a little angry as to why Martha acts the way she does, especially when she tries to climb into bed with them while they are having sex (she doesn't try to join she just wants to sleep near them). While a little slow to develop and a little confusing because of the present/past changes, this movie does give a little insight into how difficult it might be to leave a cult and try to build a regular life again. Also the troubled relationship between Martha and Lucy does make you feel sympathetic towards both characters.
Once she leaves the cult it doesn't mean that the cult has let her go and Martha realizes at the end of the movie she may never really be free.
This movie has it's ups and downs, it isn't one of the best movies I've ever seen, and the ending didn't satisfy me, however, it was an interesting movie. Yes, it was hard to follow because of all of the back and forth, the relationship between the sisters made me continue to watch. This isn't a satisfying movie however, and doesn't really give much insight into the characters before the disappearance of Martha into the cult. Lucy never even learns that Martha was in a cult, she just knows something terrible happened to her sister and she needs help.
The interesting part of the movie, the strained relationship of the sisters, developed enough to let me feel like it was possible for the sisters to have a normal relationship in the future. This movie also made me wonder about leaving the life of a cult. The trauma one suffers at the hands of a cult is very deep and the ripples are probably forever.
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