Martha Marcy May Marlene
Crit
OK, first time I was ever aware of John Hawkes was in the trailer for Me and You and Everyone We Know, which I saw several times before the film came to town, and I thought he was a dead ringer for a young Dennis Hopper, so though his character looked like a sweet guy in the trailer, I wouldn't have been surprised to have him turn out to be a rapist leader of a murderous cult.But his character was in fact a sweet guy in the film, and not long after that, he became for me what he will always be: the lovable and reliable best friend Sol Star in Deadwood, and since then I've not wanted to have to not like his character--he can have a few rough edges, as in Wristcutters: A Love Story or Winter's Bone, but I'm no longer prepared for him to be Charlie Manson. Guess I have to get past that.
Remember (gosh, I hope so--it was only a week ago!) what I said about Take Shelter, that it was "the front-runner in the 'I-was-never-comfortable' sweepstakes for 2011"? Well, it still is, but this is a worthy runner-up. And the films are alike in a surprising number of ways: in each, the protagonist behaves in ways that seem bizarre to those who haven't seen what (s)he has seen; in each, the protagonist foresees a catastrophe that no one else can sense; and each film ends on a big question mark: is that catastrophe imminent? Show 'em as a double feature and sell Ambien at the concession stand!
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