Having seen and been impressed by Brit Marling's other work Another Earth, it was with some enthusiasm I ventured forth to see this movie. As much as Another Earth has the ability to put on the appearance of being a bigger than Indie movie, The Sound of My Voice is clearly in the Indie tradition, and perhaps the reality tradition, yet manages to convey a sense of the mystical as well.

A documentary filmmaker Peter, and his girlfriend penetrate the mysterious, inner workings of a cult. The members shower, are blindfolded, and driven to a secret meeting place. He is a schoolteacher with dreams of being a director. The mysterious and charismatic cult leader Maggie played by Brit Marling, has returned from the future, to save a select group of people, her followers. She breathes through a tube in the nose, yet occasionally removes the tube and seems to breathe with no bother.

How one can get a camera in without being seen, and film without being noticed is a rather interesting question.

On the surface she seems genuine and legit, though, if you're like me you will wonder, if she is a deluded soul or something more sinister. She appears to have extraordinary empathic and intuitive powers, yet some of what she does raises questions. She punishes bad behavior, and rewards compliance. I found it rather engaging, as when one member is ejected for asking questions, yet she claims this is not the reason for his ejection.

Yet other members clearly become more compliant when she reacts like this. These tactics appear to work on the Peter, when she makes a very strange request of him, and she alienates him from his girlfriend. Maggie remains a mysterious character even to the end, with some intriguing twists and I loved the end.

If you are new to Brit Marling's movies, I recommend Another Earth more highly. It won two awards at the Sundance Film Festival.

Like Another Earth this is quite thought provoking, there are a few parallels such as the search for meaning, and in this case the search for truth.

Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention and Brit Marling who was struggling like other actresses to get roles decided to go a different route and write the screenplays for the characters she would play and work with the directors she knew.
I really admire that type of entrepreneurial spirit and this type of accomplishment.
Last week I saw her in the Richard Gere movie Arbitrage so her strategy appears to have paid off.

I do hope she will continue to make these types of movies as it brings a wonderful diversity to our moviegoing experiences.

I think you will enjoy it, and I hope this was helpful.

"Sound of My Voice" (85 min.) brings the story of Peter (played by Christopher Denham) and his girlfriend Lorna, who in true "investigative journalism" mode are infiltrating a small cult of some sort, with a view of making a documentary to expose the cult. The cult is led by a young woman called Maggie (played by Brit Marling), who claims to be from "54", as in... 2054. (Please don't ask yoursel how Peter and Lorna found out about this new small cult or how they were able to infiltrate it, it is never explained in the movie.) The cult seems to be made up of about 10 people who are brought blind-folded to the basement of a non-descript house somewhere in Los Angeles.

In his "other" life, Peter is a substitute teacher of an all-girl class of 8 year olds. At a key point in the movie Maggie asks Peter to bring one specific girl from his class to her. How did Maggie know of this girl? Will Peter give in to this request, which amounts to kidnapping? To say much more about the plot would be to ruin your viewing experience. I thought this movie, which clearly was made on a nickel and a dime, was done quite nicely. There is a certain amount of tension from the very beginning that doesn't let up at all until the end of the movie (when Hot Chip's Thieves of the Night plays over the end credits).

Special kudos to Zal Batmanglij (director and co-writer) and of course also to Brit Marling, who also co-wrote the script for this movie. This movie is MILES away from your typical Hollywood main fare. I have no idea why it took over a year for this movie to be released in the theatre (it created quite a buzz when it premiered at the 2011 SXSW film festival), but better later than never I suppose. If you are in the mood for a good indie movie, I can readily recommend "Sound of My Voice".

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Brit Marling, star and co-writer of 'Sound of MY Voice' was also responsible for 'Another Earth', a 2012 Spirit Award nominee for Best First Feature. Both films are similar in that they have an ambiguous ending which has sparked vast debate on the internet message boards. The ending of 'Sound of my Voice' is even more integral to the plot than 'Another Earth', since viewers are led to expect a big 'payoff'.

That payoff involves whether the film's antagonist, Maggie, a cult leader, who claims to be from the year 2054, actually is a time traveler from the future. Before dissecting the ending, it's important to realize that the film is also about the power of cult psychology. The film's protagonist, Peter, along with his girlfriend, Lorna, are documentary filmmakers who decide to risk all by infiltrating the group. I had a hard time with the idea that Peter, knowing how dangerous the cult is, still is intent on going ahead with his project. You have to suspend your disbelief over Peter's stubbornness, since the average person (working in a vacuum as Peter and Lorna do) would probably not take such a risk.

The film's main conceit during the 'Second Act' of the narrative is that even the most steadfast skeptics such as Peter, can be seduced by a talented manipulator. He and Lorna are subjected to a series of 'loyalty tests' including eating worms and poisoned apples, culminating in Maggie's ability to break Peter down emotionally during one of the sessions (she alludes to one of Peter's upsetting childhood memories). While Peter tells Lorna it was all just an act, later Peter agrees to assist in the abduction of Abigail, the young girl Maggie claims is her mother. Peter argues that he just wants to finish the job he started since so many people never do that. The scenarists of 'Sound of My Voice' argue whatever Peter's ultimate motive is, in the end he's been manipulated into committing an egregious act (the abduction of a child).

While hardly any of the mechanics of cult indoctrination can be termed 'suspenseful', Ms. Marling and her co-writer keep dropping hints that there's something a lot bigger afoot. The big 'twist' at the end has Abigail giving Maggie the secret handshake, leading to all kinds of speculation. Interpretations of the ending have been broken down into multiple camps.

One camp basically holds that Maggie is indeed Abigail's daughter and a time traveler. Adherents of this point of view point to the fact that when Abigail asks Maggie how she knew the secret handshake, Maggie replies, "you taught it to me." In this scenario, Abigail has been trained to be a terrorist and later Maggie receives the same indoctrination. Maggie's aim is to save her 'mother' as well as herself from those people in the future who have abused them. Carol, the self-declared 'Department of Justice' investigator, is actually a bounty hunter from the future, who is assigned to thwart Maggie's plans, as she will prevent both Abigail and Maggie from turning away from the cult in the present and the future. Camp #1 points to the fact that if these were real Department of Justice investigators, Peter would have also had to have been detained on charges of complicity in the kidnapping.

Another camp holds that Carol is a cult follower who pretends to be a Department of Justice Investigator. The cult cons Lorna into believing that Maggie has been arrested but in reality she has been simply 'taken away' by cult followers. With this belief, Lorna is no longer a threat. The 'secret handshake' has been arranged by the man who has been indoctrinating Abigail and Maggie is in on it. Peter, the skeptic, suddenly becomes a 'true believer' in the cult, as he's been conned into the whole time travel scenario.

And another camp holds time travel is impossible and it's Klaus who's the true Svengali here. He found the drug-addicted Maggie on the street and brainwashed her into believing that Abigail is her mother. Nonetheless, Abigail may indeed be Maggie's daughter and old lost memories may be breaking into her consciousness. Something inside her is telling her to save Abigail and when Peter finally brings Abigail to her and asks how she knew the secret handshake, Maggie suddenly recalls her daughter taught it to her when she was much smaller (the man who appears to be her 'father' is a cult follower who has been brainwashing little Abigail since her earliest memories, and taught her the secret handshake). Carol is actually affiliated with the DOJ and interrupts the confused Maggie and arrests her, as she is aware that she has a criminal history. Nonetheless, Maggie may not be held criminally liable as later on it may come out that she has been manipulated by Klaus.

There seem to be a myriad of explanations to explain the ending of this film. Some people believe that such ambiguity is a mark of a great film--the fact that so many people can come up with so many different explanations as to what this film is about, is held up by some, as a sign of great creativity. On the other hand, others (including myself), feel that this kind of writing is a cop-out. Do you really have a definitive point of view you're trying to put across? Or are you leaving things intentionally ambiguous because you really haven't thought through precisely what you're trying to say?

I suppose a film such as this which engenders so much discussion on the internet deserves an extra star. But ultimately, the film never answers fundamental questions about its antagonist which should be answered, leading one to conclude that the film's scenarists do not have a firm grasp on their material.