MOVIE REVIEW: Sound Of My Voice Is More Of An Echo

In some ways, “Sound Of My Voice” resembles “Martha Marcy May Marlene” in that it shows how people who are lost and vulnerable can slowly surrender their will to those who are unworthy (really, are there ever any worthy ones?). However, while “Martha” was a great character study, “Sound” never really gets you invested. It aims for ambiguity, but at the cost of both character and plot. The result is we never really get invested and the questions we leave the theater with are more out of frustration than anything else.

The story begins when Peter (Christopher Denham) and his girlfriend Lorna (Nicole Vicius) decide to try and create a documentary about a cult in the California suburbs that is attracting more and more followers. They are both very damaged in very different ways, and Peter's makes him both the greatest skeptic and the one who may be willing to take the greatest risks for its leader.

That leader is named Maggie (Another Earth's Brit Marling, who also co-wrote the script), a beautiful, perceptive, and charismatic young woman who claims to be from the year 2054. She offers no proof to back up her claims, yet such is her presence that apparently, “To see her is to believe her.” And from the minute she appears, you do see how those lost souls could be pulled in.

It's a bizarre and fascinating world, one where cleanliness, ritual and preparation for the dark days to come is paramount. It can also draw you in like a moth to the flame with its emphasis on close ties between members and unthinking acceptance of Maggie's words. Yet the movie also fails to truly draw you in. This is supposed to be a kind of character study, but you get the sense that you aren't exposed to all of Peter and Lorna's knowledge the cult's inner workings. Then there are the scenes where neither of them are present that are not fully explained, and only serve to deepen the confusion.

True ambiguity comes from having most or all of the information and still remaining unsure, not withholding it for dramatic effect. The end result is a good movie that could have done better to give you more of the picture or take a stand and offer a conclusion for the audience. Since the movie does neither, it doesn't leave nearly as much of an impact as it could have.

Grade: C+