Sound of My Voice (2011)

Let me begin by saying the movie was great throughout. It's original, thought provoking, and you are always suspenseful throughout the whole movie, guessing as to what could come next. For the budget it was made on, the movie looked quite professional, with great acting as well. But one of the big problems I noticed people had with this film was the plot holes, the missing details. Luckily, these aren't huge gaping holes that make the main story confusing, just details like why the child was acting so strange.

There are two ways you could look at this though. You could see it as the directors being lazy and not explaining everything, or you could see it as the directors purposely leaving out those details, making you actively think about the video. I tend to think the latter, especially in this case. People said that inception was confusing too, but that's what made it so much better then your average movie. Rarely does a flick ever come along that makes you think instead on just passively watching a TV screen, and this is one of them.

Fmovies: I loved this film. Must be watched without distraction, to allow yourself to be immersed in the mood and flow of the piece, to feel at times like a person investigating a cult, at times like a person with doubts, at times like a person embracing it, while at times as a person ... in bewilderment ... and wonder. Emotions that draw you in, just as they draw in the cult members.

Needless to say this is not a special effects film, despite the "science-fiction" question it raises. It is all about the people.

All those involved in writing, producing, financing, directing, and acting in this film, deserve an incredible amount of credit.

I saw this at the 2012 Palm Springs International Film Festival. An LA journalist and his girlfriend Peter (Christopher Denham) as Peter and Nicole Vicius as Lorna go underground to investigate a cult led by a woman who claims she's from the future. Brit Marling stars as Maggie, the mysterious cult leader with Richard Wharton as Klaus, her dedicated right hand man who brings the members and potential members of the the small group of followers to Maggie's home where she conducts meetings in her basement. Zal Batmanglij directs and co-wrote the script with Marling. Nice music from Rostam Batmanglij with a good-looking production value thanks to cinematographer Rachel Morrison and production designer Scott Enge. This was originally conceived as a 10 part webisode which is why the annoying and unexplainable numbers from one to ten keep popping up every few minutes. Fox Searchlight bought this and turned it into a theatrical release where it debuted as a big hit at the Sundance Film Festival last year. This comes across as more like a TV pilot for some Sci-Fi channel series than a movie. Even if a sequel to it were made as a film, it would spend the entire film just trying to explain and fill in the many unanswered story line subplots and backgrounds. Just too many loose ends here to a semi-interesting story that takes you nowhere. Would probably make a good TV series but this as a film fall flat. I would give this a 6.0 out of 10.

Sound of My Voice fmovies. I saw Sound of My Voice at its SXSW following its premiere at Sundance. It is a weird little film about a two documentary filmmakers investigating Maggie - a cult leader who claims to have traveled back from the future. It was made on a shoestring budget which can be seen in some of its sound and editing. While the film is a decent first effort by some talented amateur filmmakers, it feels oddly unfinished. The acting is okay, but nothing spectacular. The script is a classic presentation of the one of the oldest of cinematic and literary conflicts between faith and reason. Do you believe that Maggie is a time traveler or is she a fraud? The journey is perhaps more interesting than where it ultimately ends up. The trip to that end is worthwhile and really quite creepy and disturbing at times. Maggie is a perplexing enigma and the cult's beliefs and rituals are quite mind-boggling.

The cult members seem quite willing to believe anything in the existential quest to give their lives some meaning. They seem to want to be led somewhere and Maggie is very willing to take them. In that sense one can ask what the real difference is between a cult and an established religion. Many scholars would say not that much other than how long they've been around. The final twist is ultimately not all that shocking or truly expected. Still, a good first effort that may allow the filmmakers to move on to bigger and better stuff.

Sound of My Voice was one of the best-crafted feature films at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. I was fortunate enough to secure a ticket for the screening at The Library theater, and the place was packed.

Sound of My Voice is the story of two amateur documentary filmmakers who decide to infiltrate a secretive cult run by a mysterious woman who calls herself Maggie. They want to expose the cult for reasons that become apparent later in the film. Sound of My Voice is a thriller, so it is hard to describe much without giving away key plot elements, so I will simply say that the acting is superb throughout.

The real standout is double-threat Britt Marling who not only stars as Maggie, but also co-wrote the screenplay with Zal Batmanglij (Marling also co-wrote and starred in Another Earth -- which was also a Sundance standout).

The cinematography, editing, and score lend just the right edgy feel to this film. Even though Sound of My Voice was shot on a micro-budget, it pays off better than most of the indie films one sees at your local art house. In fact, I could easily see this film crossing over to play at some commercial theaters in large cities. You will be on the edge of your seat, desperately trying to discover the truth, and when the lights come up, Sound of My Voice will both satisfy and leave you begging for more.

If you are into films that are original and make you think as you leave the theater, this is the film to see while it is still in theaters. Christopher Denham and Nicole Vicius portray a couple attempting to infiltrate and expose a cult led by Brit Marling's Maggie but find themselves in too deep.

The film, presented with little back story and minor music cues leaves only the actors and scenes to bring the emotion and interest. All the actors do a good job with the material and if you go with the scenario being presented it's quite engrossing. The end result is a film that forces the viewer to do some of the heavy lifting to determine if Maggie is who she says she is or if it is all a scam.