Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting.
31-540: Martha Marcy May Marlene is a 2011 American psychological thriller - drama film written and directed by Sean Durkin in his directorial feature film debut, and starring Elizabeth Olsen (in her film debut), John Hawkes , Sarah Paulson , and Hugh Dancy . The plot focuses on a young woman suffering from delusions and paranoia after returning to her family from an abusive cult in the Catskill Mountains . A 22-year-old woman named Martha has been abused by
62-567: A cat and mouse game. Sensation novels , examples of early psychological thrillers, were considered to be socially irresponsible due to their themes of sex and violence. These novels, among others, were inspired by the exploits of real-life detective Jack Whicher . Water, especially floods, is frequently used to represent the unconscious mind, such as in What Lies Beneath and In Dreams . Psychological thrillers may not always be concerned with plausibility. Peter Hutchings defines
93-497: A cult in the Catskill Mountains for two years. The patriarch, Patrick, named her Marcy May. She escapes into the woods, arriving at a nearby town. In a diner restaurant, she is confronted by Watts, a cult member, who attempts to persuade her to return, but when she refuses, he lets her leave. Martha calls her sister, Lucy, who picks her up and takes her to the vacation lake house in Connecticut that she shares with her husband,
124-414: A homeowner who walked in on them. After witnessing the murder, Martha had a mental breakdown, to which Patrick responded by forcefully subduing her and berating her again; he then shifted to telling her that she is his favorite person and that he will never let her go. Lucy and Ted host a party at their home, inviting numerous friends from the city. Martha is visibly nervous during the gathering, and she has
155-400: A psychiatric hospital, to which Martha angrily responds that Lucy will be a terrible mother. The next day, Lucy and Martha somewhat reconcile, and Martha goes swimming. She sees a man watching her, across the shore, and she leaves the water. When Martha departs the house with Lucy and Ted, she looks behind from the backseat of the car, as another driver follows them. Sean Durkin started writing
186-523: A psychological thriller. The same situation can occur when critics label a work to be a psychological thriller in order to elevate its perceived literary value. Many psychological thrillers have emerged over the past years, all in various media (film, literature, radio, etc.). Despite these very different forms of representation, general trends have appeared throughout the narratives. Some of these consistent themes include: In psychological thrillers, characters often have to battle an inner struggle. Amnesia
217-431: A psychotic episode when she misidentifies the bartender as a cult member, and she needs to be sedated. Ted attempts to convince Lucy to send Martha to a psychiatric hospital, an idea Lucy rejects. Later that night, Martha has a nightmare of being sexually abused by Patrick and suffers a panic attack. Ted tries to calm her down, but Martha, thinking he is Patrick, kicks him down the staircase. Lucy threatens to send Martha to
248-515: A successful architect named Ted. Martha exhibits strange behavior by skinny dipping in public, sleeping all the time, not eating, and arguing with Lucy and Ted about how to live, specifically arguing over the need for career and possessions. Lucy reveals she abandoned Martha and is now attempting to get her back into her life, while she and Ted are also trying to have their own child. One night, Martha climbs into bed with Ted and Lucy while they are having sex, angering Ted. Martha then attempts to phone
279-406: Is a common plot device used to explore these questions. Character may be threatened with death, be forced to deal with the deaths of others, or fake their own deaths. Psychological thrillers can be complex, and reviewers may recommend a second or third viewing to "decipher its secrets." Common elements may include stock characters , such as a hardboiled detective and serial killer , involved in
310-597: Is a distinctive, haunting psychological drama." On Metacritic the film has a 75 out of 100 score on 39 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Christy Lemire of the Associated Press named Martha Marcy May Marlene the best film of 2011. Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, describing Olsen as "a genuine discovery ... She has a wide range of emotions to deal with here, and in her first major role, she seems instinctively to know how to do that." Ebert's only major complaint
341-469: Is closely related to and sometimes overlaps with the psychological drama and psychological horror genres, the latter generally involving more horror and terror elements and themes and more disturbing or frightening scenarios. Peter Hutchings states varied films have been labeled psychological thrillers, but it usually refers to "narratives with domesticated settings in which action is suppressed and where thrills are provided instead via investigations of
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#1732797981214372-636: The 2011 Sundance Film Festival in January, with Durkin winning the festival's U.S. Directing Award for Best Drama. It also screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and at the 36th Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2011. The film received a limited release in the United States on October 21, 2011. In its opening weekend in limited release, Martha Marcy May Marlene grossed $ 137,651 in
403-553: The giallo , an Italian subgenre of psychological thrillers, as violent murder mysteries that focus on style and spectacle over rationality. According to Peter B. Flint of The New York Times , detractors of Alfred Hitchcock accused him of "relying on slick tricks, illogical story lines and wild coincidences". The most popular Psychological Thriller Author is Jodi Picoult 2010 Cannes Film Festival The 63rd Cannes Film Festival took place from 12 to 23 May 2010. American filmmaker Tim Burton served as jury president for
434-553: The 2010 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalizateurs): Feature films Short films The Palme d'Or was won by the Thai film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul . It was the first time that an Asian movie won the award since 1997. Tim Burton , chairman of the jury that determined the award, stated about its decision: "You always want to be surprised by films and this film did that for most of us." French film Of Gods and Men
465-467: The 49th Critics' Week ( 49e Semaine de la Critique ): Feature film competition Short film competition Special screening The documentary film Benda Bilili! about disabled Kinshasa street musicians Staff Benda Bilili had its world premiere at the festival, with the group in attendance and performing at the Director's Fortnight opening party. The following films were screened for
496-460: The United States. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released Martha Marcy May Marlene on DVD and Blu-ray on February 21, 2012. Martha Marcy May Marlene received highly positive reviews, with Olsen's performance as the traumatized Martha met with critical acclaim; the film holds a 90% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes , with the consensus capsule stating, "Led by a mesmerizing debut performance from Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
527-529: The Wedding . The look of the film was particularly inspired by the last film. Elizabeth Olsen admitted that her nude scenes were a bit odd to film, but she said that simply diving into the water was far more perilous than taking her clothes off, in front of a camera, because "The lake was daunting, and in some lake scenes, we could only shoot once, because physically, it was too cold for a body to be in there very long." Martha Marcy May Marlene premiered at
558-515: The broader ranging thriller narrative structure, with similarities to Gothic and detective fiction in the sense of sometimes having a "dissolving sense of reality". It is often told through the viewpoint of psychologically stressed characters, revealing their distorted mental perceptions and focusing on the complex and often tortured relationships between obsessive and pathological characters. Psychological thrillers often incorporate elements of mystery , drama , action , and paranoia . The genre
589-457: The characters; guilty characters may suffer similar distress by virtue of their knowledge. However, James N. Frey defines psychological thrillers as a style, rather than a subgenre; Frey states good thrillers focus on the psychology of their antagonists and build suspense slowly through ambiguity. Creators and/or film distributors or publishers who seek to distance themselves from the negative connotations of horror often categorize their work as
620-555: The competition of Cinéfondation : The following short films competed for the Short Film Palme d'Or : Cannes Classics places the spotlight on documentaries about cinema and restored masterworks from the past. The Cinéma de la Plage is a part of the Official Selection of the festival. The outdoors screenings at the beach cinema of Cannes are open to the public. The following films were screened for
651-536: The cult as she misses them, but she hangs up when cult matriarch Katie answers using the code name "Marlene Lewis". In flashbacks , Martha recalls a series of disturbing events that led to her escape from the cult. Martha became a member through her friend, Zoe. She was initially receptive but somewhat wary of Patrick, Katie, and Zoe. She was later convinced by Zoe and Patrick to let her guard down and "share herself", only to end up being drugged by Katie and brutally raped by Patrick, in an initiation cleansing ritual. She
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#1732797981214682-451: The farm, commune, or group, and he made a short film of the name Mary Last Seen about it, starring Brady Corbet , who plays cult recruiter Watts, in both the short and feature films. Mary Last Seen won the award for best short film at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight . While Mary Last Seen was about how someone gets into the cult, Martha Marcy May Marlene was about what happens to someone when they exit. Durkin made
713-613: The main competition. Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul won the Palme d'Or , the festival's top prize, for the drama film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives . The festival opened with Robin Hood by Ridley Scott , and closed with The Tree by Julie Bertuccelli . English actress Kristin Scott Thomas was the mistress of ceremonies. Agence France-Presse , Reuters , Associated Press and Getty TV boycotted
744-470: The majority of psychological thrillers have happy endings. Madden stated their lack of spectacle and strong emphasis on character led to their decline in Hollywood popularity. Psychological thrillers are suspenseful by exploiting uncertainty over characters' motives, honesty, and how they see the world. Films can also cause discomfort in audiences by privileging them with information they wish to share with
775-537: The press conference that announced the line-up for the festival, due to a dispute over access to the red carpet. In a press release, the agencies said that they "may be forced to suspend their presence at the festival altogether" if an agreement was not reached. Days before the festival was to begin, concerns were expressed that attendees might be delayed, or would not attend, due to plane flights to surrounding areas in France being delayed or canceled due to volcanic ash in
806-454: The psychologies of the principal characters." A distinguishing characteristic of a psychological thriller is it emphasizes the mental states of its characters: their perceptions, thoughts, distortions, and general struggle to grasp reality. According to director John Madden , psychological thrillers focus on story, character development, choice, and moral conflict; fear and anxiety drive the psychological tension in unpredictable ways. However,
837-550: The script of Martha Marcy May Marlene in 2007. When researching his script, Durkin read about what he calls "the big ones" of cults: Jonestown , the Manson family , the Unification Church of the United States and David Koresh . He realised he wanted to make something more experiential than political and downplayed the ideology and goals of the cult. While researching, Durkin became fascinated by how someone gets into
868-504: The short to show the world Martha was in and also with the intent to send it out with the script for Martha Marcy May Marlene to potential investors. Mary Last Seen was selected for the Sundance Film Festival , and Durkin was given a distribution deal with Fox Searchlight . Durkin and cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes were inspired by the films Rosemary's Baby , 3 Women , Klute , Interiors , and Margot at
899-678: The sky . Two days before the beginning of the festival, the just finished film Route Irish by Ken Loach , was added to the main competition. The following people were appointed as the Jury for the feature films of the 2010 Official Selection: The following feature films competed for the Palme d'Or : The following films were selected for the competition of Un Certain Regard : The following films were selected to be screened out of competition: The following films were shown as special screenings. The following short films were selected for
930-409: Was that the movie's chronological shifts were "a shade too clever. In a serious film, there is no payoff for trickery." In contrast, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian felt that the flashbacks were "cleverly and indirectly" structured throughout the film, and ultimately rated it with four stars out of five. Psychological thriller film In terms of context and convention, it is a subgenre of
961-427: Was then gaslit by Katie and Zoe who insisted that her rape was good. Patrick later urged Martha to kill a cat, which Martha refused. Her refusal prompted him to berate her and for failing to follow the cult's ideals. Patrick constantly attempted to impregnate Martha to spread his genes, despite her resistance. Martha subsequently began participating in burglaries with the other cultists, including one where they murdered