🇵🇱 Steve G 🇵🇸’s review published on Letterboxd:
The World Is More Than Enough - 30 Countries In 30 Days Challenge (18 / 30) - USA
SOME SPOILERS
Having been entranced by Another Earth a few months ago, Sound Of My Voice was one of the most eagerly awaited films on my watchlist due to sharing the same writer-lead actress Brit Marling.
The problem is that while I knew right away that I really liked that film, I've come out of this one not really sure what to make of it. So this is going to be one of those reviews where I write about and work through what I liked and disliked about it, and hopefully come to some kind of a conclusion about it. Because right now I have no idea what I thought of it.
What I do know is that it is one of those films that it is best not knowing anything about. There are a lot of those about these days, have you noticed? The basic plot, about a couple who decide to undercover at a secretive commune that they suspect to be a cult, run by Marling, does not ultimately cover much of what this film ultimately ends up being. Or what it hopes that it ends up being.
I think have realised, actually, that my main issue with this film is its ending - while at the same time it could bring meaning to so many of the things we see and are told earlier in the film. Initially I thought it was a hopeful attempt at beguiling ambiguity on the part of Marling, but I do think there is some method to what is seen here. Having said that, it does leave you with a headache that almost all sci-fi tinged mysteries leave you with these days.
Whereas the ending of Another Earth was ambiguous and mysteriously chilling, I still think that perhaps too many questions are left here. Until that point, this really is quite impressively mounted suspense stuff - the story is joined almost 'in progress' as we meet the two infiltrators Christopher Denham and Nicole Vicius just as they are about to initiated into the 'cult'.
The film then proceeds to be at its most interesting when examining the psychology of people such as Marling's and their ability to contort reality and convince people into following them. Even if anyone involved has any doubts about what she claims and what she claims to be, it is then extremely impressive and brilliantly written when it comes to showing how she is able to win her followers round.
The film makes a mistake in showing any footage about Marling's background - for a start, we have no idea whether we can trust those flashbacks, and secondly they are almost redundant to the rest of the film. It would have worked far better going by her verbal accounts. It also slightly struggles under an unconvincing performance by Denham.
He never convinced me at any point that he would be able to fool someone portrayed to be as intelligent as Marling into believing that he is genuinely interested in following her except for one elongated and rather revolting scene that I am sure that this film will become most notorious for. He is far too obvious with his body language and reactions, and he isn't helped by camerawork that focuses on him so much. It seems to be a double-edged fault.
it undoubtedly intrigued me and the subject matter continues to be extremely rich in possibilities for other films to come. Marling took a while to win me round in the main role but by the end had completely won me round. However, this only was the case for me because I chose to ignore the claims of a character that only becomes prominent before the end as they seemed extremely unlikely for her character. Marling is an interesting one in her own right, though, and I think I will continue to keep an eye on her work.
This review hasn't really got me to the heart of the film as I hoped it would and I am fairly sure that it will need the rewatch treatment. I'm torn on rating this 3 or 3.5 stars as well. At this point in time, though, I am of the belief that it never quite gripped me as much as I hoped it would but that it was certainly one of the more interesting and, narrative-wise, admirably ambitious films I have seen for quite some time. Flawed but worthy.