Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Interview: Martha Marcy May Marlene Star Elizabeth Olsen

Martha Marcy May Marlene star Elizabeth Olsen spends a lot of time with her face filling the screen, emotions shadowing her otherwise numbed expression. It's a demanding move on the part of director Sean Durkin, and it requires a certain sort of actress. Recalls Durkin, "When we were casting, there was something different happening with Elizabeth. Something was happening internally, but with ease. Some people could easily slip into overacting to try to get something across. But Elizabeth - without trying, without 'doing' anything, you could see that something was happening."

So, Ms. Olsen - how do you make that something happen?

A lot of times, you can get away with things: you can do a math problem in your head, and it makes you look like you're thinking. But when you're doing something [with the camera] so close, you have to put yourself in a mindset. You have to try to have honest responses to everything that's going on.

And how do you get that across?

I approach everything scene by scene, and I try to make something as clear and specific as possible for me to play, so that the inner battle will come across. I actually have no control over creating images, or facial expressions that would convey [interior emotion]. The only thing I can do is have clear intentions or goals.

So in the scene where you go into your sister's bedroom and sit on the bed while she's having sex with her husband...

My intention was to gain comfort. By that point, Martha's not used to being alone - she's used to being in a home with lots of people. And someone having sex next to her is something that she's been experiencing. So she goes in and sits down - what they're doing doesn't really matter to her. She just wanted that comfort of being close to someone.

And your sister is so shocked that all she can do is tell you that it's not normal.

And it's really embarrassing. To forget certain things and have someone reminding you.

Tell me about getting into the character of Martha - I kept thinking, "She's a stranger to herself." That has to be tricky to play.

Something that I immediately attached onto was her paranoia. When people suffer from paranoia, everything they see is real to them. No matter whether it's real or not, no matter what anybody tells you about how it's not real. You're either not going to believe them, or you're going to think they're part of it. So it just escalates. That was my launching point - playing with the idea of paranoia. How much can you share? How much can you let someone know about what's really going on? Because for Martha, it's all real. That's what I played with most in the lake house with her sister and her sister's husband. How that comes across - as loss of identity, or fear, or shatteredness - well, everyone interprets it in different ways. But for me, in my mind, I had to be as specific and clear as possible.

What attracted you to this part? Why did you want to do this film in particular?

When I read the script, I responded to the narrative - the way Sean wrote it. It was a gift to be able to read something where you weren't force-fed answers. You understand things through content and context, as opposed to clear exposition. And I had a lot of empathy for the character and her situation - a young woman with lots of possibilities. I wanted to make sure that no one could just write her off as easily manipulated. I wanted to show her as a strong-willed young woman, very much her own person - but also one who needed to feel like she was part of something bigger than herself. And there was also something she needed that she never perceived in her family. These people [in the cult] provided it for her.

[Interview with director Sean Durkin here.]

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob

Martha Marcy May Marlene star Elizabeth Olsen spends a lot of time with her face filling the screen, emotions shadowing her otherwise numbed expression. It's a demanding move on the part of director Sean Durkin, and it requires a certain sort of actress. Recalls Durkin, "When we were casting, there was something different happening with Elizabeth. Something was happening internally, but with ease. Some people could easily slip into overacting to try to get something across. But Elizabeth - without trying, without 'doing' anything, you could see that something was happening."

So, Ms. Olsen - how do you make that something happen?

A lot of times, you can get away with things: you can do a math problem in your head, and it makes you look like you're thinking. But when you're doing something [with the camera] so close, you have to put yourself in a mindset. You have to try to have honest responses to everything that's going on.

And how do you get that across?

I approach everything scene by scene, and I try to make something as clear and specific as possible for me to play, so that the inner battle will come across. I actually have no control over creating images, or facial expressions that would convey [interior emotion]. The only thing I can do is have clear intentions or goals.

So in the scene where you go into your sister's bedroom and sit on the bed while she's having sex with her husband...

My intention was to gain comfort. By that point, Martha's not used to being alone - she's used to being in a home with lots of people. And someone having sex next to her is something that she's been experiencing. So she goes in and sits down - what they're doing doesn't really matter to her. She just wanted that comfort of being close to someone.

And your sister is so shocked that all she can do is tell you that it's not normal.

And it's really embarrassing. To forget certain things and have someone reminding you.

Tell me about getting into the character of Martha - I kept thinking, "She's a stranger to herself." That has to be tricky to play.

Something that I immediately attached onto was her paranoia. When people suffer from paranoia, everything they see is real to them. No matter whether it's real or not, no matter what anybody tells you about how it's not real. You're either not going to believe them, or you're going to think they're part of it. So it just escalates. That was my launching point - playing with the idea of paranoia. How much can you share? How much can you let someone know about what's really going on? Because for Martha, it's all real. That's what I played with most in the lake house with her sister and her sister's husband. How that comes across - as loss of identity, or fear, or shatteredness - well, everyone interprets it in different ways. But for me, in my mind, I had to be as specific and clear as possible.

What attracted you to this part? Why did you want to do this film in particular?

When I read the script, I responded to the narrative - the way Sean wrote it. It was a gift to be able to read something where you weren't force-fed answers. You understand things through content and context, as opposed to clear exposition. And I had a lot of empathy for the character and her situation - a young woman with lots of possibilities. I wanted to make sure that no one could just write her off as easily manipulated. I wanted to show her as a strong-willed young woman, very much her own person - but also one who needed to feel like she was part of something bigger than herself. And there was also something she needed that she never perceived in her family. These people [in the cult] provided it for her.

[Interview with director Sean Durkin here.]

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Elizabeth Cotten, adopted by the Seeger family, then discovered

A bit of luck when selling dolls
Next Article

Veronica

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.