One of the hotly buzzed titles of the festival has been Zal Batmanglij’s directorial debut, the unsettling and finely tuned cult drama, Sound of My Voice. A richly textured example of economical filmmaking that was made on a pittance and written as, I can only assume, a starring vehicle for co-writer Brit Marling. Much like last year’s Another Earth, which Marling also co-wrote, Sound of My Voice is a lo-fi approach to a more mainstream genre. Whereas Earth examined the possibilities of redemption and forgiveness against the backdrop of science fiction, Voice sees its characters debate the very notions of reality and accountability within the confines of a cult conspiracy film.
The film opens with a prolonged sequence following primary school teacher Peter (Christopher Denham, Shutter Island) and his recovering substance abuser girlfriend Lorna (Nicole Vicius, Half Nelson) going about a mysterious routine of having their hands tied, their eyes covered, and told to clean every inch of their body. This is all a means of getting into an exclusive group of people who more or less worship at the alter of ethereal Maggie (Marling), a woman who claims to have awoken in our time from the year 2054. Peter and Lorna’s intentions aren’t exactly made clear from the get go, but their subsequent revelations fuel the rest of this increasingly evocative psychological endurance test. The thrills are hardly the kind that audiences will find in the latest Bourne movie, but the increasing tension is palpable.
Similarities to Martha Marcy May Marlene are to be expected, but other than one specific sequence the two share little in common. Sound of My Voice’s narrative has a distinct difference in that the leader of this cult is a woman, and the more peaceful way these people exist makes the film unique; there’s far less of the raping and horror that one normally finds. Acted with a subtle nuances throughout, this film’s ambiguous ending will elicit much discussion, while the film’s delicately handled politics are refreshingly two-sided.
Sound of My Voice is screening again at the Melbourne International Film Festival on Saturday August 18th
Director: Zal Batmanglij
Cast: Brit Marling, Christopher Denham, Nicole Vicius, Davenia McFadden, Kandice Stroh,
Richard Wharton, Christy Meyers, Alvin Lim and Constance Wu