Martha Marcy May Marlene is a psychological thriller about a young woman (played by Elizabeth Olsen) who undergoes a crisis of identity after escaping a cult-like farming community where she suffered unspeakable abuses. As her past memories flash throughout her present, the audience gets to catch glimpses of manipulative community leader Patrick (John Hawkes), who is as chilling as he is charming.

At the film’s press day, the always complex and fascinating actor, John Hawkes, spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about wanting to layer this character in a way that would keep him from becoming clichéd, approaching this more as a misguided community than a cult, not judging the character so that the audience never quite knows what to make of him, and quickly seeing how special and dedicated an actress Elizabeth Olsen is. He also said that he’s about to start work on Steven Spielberg’s movie about Lincoln and, although he cannot talk about it, the script is “really wonderful.” Check out what he had to say after the jump:

[This is a re-print of my review from the 2011 Sundance Film Festival]

Martha Marcy May Marlene is a powder keg of tension, paranoia, and regret that will have you captivated with incredible direction and amazing performances. Centering on a young woman who escapes from a cult only to discover that she can’t re-assimilate, the storytelling is always restrained, intelligent, and compelling. In his debut feature film, director Sean Durkin brilliantly ties together haunting cinematography, intense sound design, and smart editing. Elizabeth Olsen gives a breakthrough performance as the haunted Martha, and costar John Hawkes continues to amaze. Never showy but always compelling, Martha Marcy May Marlene is one of the best films I’ve seen at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

The international trailer for Martha Marcy May Marlene has gone online and it makes the film look a little too much like an intense thriller rather than the unnerving, creepy flick that gets under your skin.  However, the trailer also highlights John Hawkes’ incredible performance as a seductive and violent cult leader and I’m hoping he’ll stand-out in the increasingly crowded Best Supporting Actor race.

Hit the jump to check out the international trailer and poster.  The film also stars Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, and Hugh Dancy.  Martha Marcy May Marlene will play at the Toronto International Film Festival, open domestically in limited release on October 21st, and is due out in the UK in early 2012.

Fox Searchlight has released two new posters that will lead you to two new trailers for Martha Marcy May Marlene.  The movie is about a young woman (Elizabeth Olsen giving a breakthrough performance) who escapes from a cult but struggles to re-assimilate into normal society.  It was one of the best films I saw at Sundance and it continues to be one of the best movies I’ve seen all year.

The way you can get to the new trailers is by scanning the giant QR code on the poster using a barcode scanner app from your phone.  It seems like something done for the sake of using QR codes, and while I think they can used well, they’re not really appropriate for this movie. Martha Marcy May Marlene could have easily been made 30 years ago since it rarely uses any modern technology, and certainly not in anyway that’s crucial to the story.  Thankfully, the QR codes lead you to trailers that convey the creepiness of the movie and hopefully they’ll encourage folks to check out the flick.  We’ve embedded the trailers along with the posters after the jump.  Martha Marcy May Marlene opens October 21st in limited release.

One of the great things about Danny McBride is how he creates different iterations of his comic persona. McBride usually plays one form of white trash or another but The Foot Fist Way’s Fred Simmons is different than Kenny Powers, and way different than the characters in Your Highness and The Pineapple Express. All are delusional egotistical assholes, but each offer different dilemmas and delights. Kenny Powers – the main character of Eastbound and Down – was a superstar and he’s still got the swagger long after he lost his arm and his money, and even when he’s hiding out in Mexico. It’s a different sort of delusion than his other characters: Kenny’s someone desperately clinging to the time when they were still hot shit, while the majority of his other characters never hit those heights, and it makes all of the difference in the world. Our review of the season one and season two Blu-rays of Eastbound and Down follow after the jump.

A slew of actors are now in negotiations to join the cast of Steven Spielberg’s long-in-gestation Abraham Lincoln biopic Lincoln. Daniel Day-Lewis is set to star as our nation’s 16^th president, with Sally Field attached to play his wife Mary Todd. Now, the names of those currently in negotiations to join the project are as follows (deep breath): Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Hawkes, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Tim Blake Nelson, Bruce McGill (Fair Game), Joseph Cross (Milk), David Costabile (Breaking Bad), Byron Jennings (Julie & Julia), Dakin Matthews (True Grit), Boris McGiver (The Wire), Gloria Reuben (ER), Jeremy Strong (The Happening) and David Warshofsky (Taken). Now that’s one hell of a cast.

Jones will play Pennsylvanian Republican congressman Thaddeus Stevens, a strong supporter of abolishing slavery and a man crucial to the legislation that funded the Civil War. Gordon-Levitt is in talks to play Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd. Robert was Abraham’s eldest son and the only one to live past his teenage years. No word on who the other actors will be playing, but one assumes that Lincoln’s cabinet will make up a good deal of the roles. Hit the jump to read the full press release. Lincoln is set to start filming in Virginia this fall, with a 4^th-quarter 2012 release.

One of the best films I’ve seen so far this year is the haunting and emotionally complex drama Martha Marcy May Marlene.  Now Fox Searchlight has released a trailer for the flick and it does a good job of selling how the story jumps around in time and showing the fractured psyche of its protagonist (Elisabeth Olsen in a breakthrough performance).  I also love how it closes out with John Hawkes singing and giving you a hint of how disturbing he is in this film.  I honestly believe he’s headed towards another Oscar nomination for his work in this film.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and click here to read my Sundance review.  Martha Marcy May Marlene will play at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.  It opens in the U.S. on October 7th.

Academy Award Winner Helen Hunt has joined the cast of the indie drama The Surrogate. Recent Oscar nominee John Hawkes is set to play the role of Mark O’Brien in the film based on a true story. O’Brien was “a paraplegic polio victim who lived most of his life in an iron lung, paralyzed from the neck down.” Hawkes’ character sets out to find a sex surrogate willing to take his virginity, and Variety reports that Hunt will take on the role of his surrogate. Rhea Pearlman also has a role in the film.

Hunt’s character struggles with her own life, coming to terms with explaining her profession to her 12-year-old son. Ben Lewin wrote and will direct the period flick set in the 1980’s. Lewin himself is a polio survivor.

John Hawkes has been tapped to star in Ben Lewin’s indie drama Surrogate.  Per Variety, the story “is based on the life of Mark O’Brien, a poet and journalist who, after spending most of his life with an iron lung as a result of polio, decides to explore his sexuality. He hires a sex surrogate and soon develops a relationship that changes both of their lives.”  And this is an independent feature?!  I can’t believe a studio wouldn’t want to make this.

I’ve been a big fan of Hawkes for a while and with his recent Oscar nomination for Winter’s Bone, I think he’s about to breakout in a big way.  He’ll next be seen in supporting roles in Vera Farmiga’s Higher Ground, Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion, and the excellent Martha Marcy May Marlene.

Sony Pictures Classics have acquired the North American distribution rights to Vera Farmiga’s directorial debut, Higher Ground.  I caught the film at Sundance and while it left me cold, I should note that some of my fellow critics absolutely adored the flick.  The film centers on Corinne (Farmiga), a devoutly-Christian woman who slowly begins to question her faith and the male-dominated power structure of her church.  It has some funny moments, but it rarely seems to be mocking faith, and I applaud it for that.

Hit the jump for the full press release.

There’s a bitter pill to swallow in owning the Deadwood complete series on Blu-ray. One of the best shows ever to be on television, Deadwood ends unceremoniously. There is no sense of closure, there is no sense of a finished narrative – creator David Milch gets a twenty minute segment on the set to talk about the end of the show and expresses nothing but frustration about the show’s demise. He tries to intellectualize it, but struggles to come to grips with the euthanasia HBO performed. Alas, with an existing set and the cast of characters Deadwood had it was not a cheap show, and where The Wire was able to struggle against low ratings Deadwood fell because it never exceeded its modest but committed fanbase. But Deadwood is one of the best shows ever put to television, and I come here not to mourn its end, but celebrate its greatness. My review of Deadwood: The Complete Series on Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Martha Marcy May Marlene is a powder keg of tension, paranoia, and regret that will have you captivated with incredible direction and amazing performances.  Centering on a young woman who escapes from a cult only to discover that she can’t re-assimilate, the storytelling is always restrained, intelligent, and compelling.  In his debut feature film, director Sean Durkin brilliantly ties together haunting cinematography, intense sound design, and smart editing.  Elizabeth Olsen gives a breakthrough performance as the haunted Martha, and costar John Hawkes continues to amaze.  Never showy but always compelling, Martha Marcy May Marlene is one of the best films I’ve seen at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Religion is a tricky topic.  It’s incredibly easy to mock it or to preach it.  But an honest exploration of faith requires complete commitment and a willingness to let non-believers scoff and the holier-than-thou scorn.  Vera Farmiga’s directorial debut Higher Ground manages the impressive task of fully committing to its characters’ faith.  Unfortunately, it never transforms that commitment into a more fulfilling experience.  Despite an earnest approach to the Christian faith, Farmiga never finds anything interesting to say about it.

Awards season keeps chugging right along, and today nominations for the 17^th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. The King’s Speech and The Fighter received the most nominations, with 4 each. King’s Speech has long been an Oscar favorite, but David O. Russell’s The Fighter has gained considerable steam in the past few weeks following its highly successful limited release.  Not too many surprises here, save for some much-welcomed love for The Kids are All Right’s Mark Ruffalo and Winter’s Bone’s John Hawkes. Hit the jump to check out the full list of nominees in both film and television. The 17^th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be simulcast live on TNT and TBS on January 20^th.

The slate of films premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in January were just announced, and we’ve been given a slew of images from a number of films that will have their premiere at the prestigious festival. Higher Ground, screening in the in-competition category, marks the directorial debut of Up in the Air star Vera Farmiga. The actress also stars in the film alongside Joshua Leonard (Blair Witch Project), John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone) and Dagmara Dominczyk (Kinsey). Scripted by Carolyn Briggs and Tim Metcalfe (Kalifornia), the synopsis is as follows: A frustrated young mother turns to a fundamentalist community for answers, but after years of dogma and loss, she must find the courage to ask the questions that will help her reclaim her life.

HERE, also screening in the in-competition category, is directed by documentary filmmaker Braden King and stars Ben Foster, Lubna Azabal and Narek Nersisyan. The script, written by King and Dani Valent, centers on an American cartographer who’s on assignment to create a new, more accurate satellite survey of Armenia, who forms a powerful bond with an Armenian expatriate and art photographer. Hit the jump to check out the images from both films.