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Written By:

William Owen

Created:

Friday, September 4th, 2009
at 13:39

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Tags: Martyrs, Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï, Pascal Laugier

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TV & Movies.

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OneMetal.com REVIEW:
Martyrs

Martyrs (2008) was recommend to us by a member of the local video store, on the grounds that they had received a number of complaints due to its graphical content. In fact it had also been recommended by a colleague of mine, who had also hinted at its hard hitting nature. Amused and interested, it was the clear choice for the evening.

Director, Pascal Laugier, set up a strong opening with a young girl escaping after being imprisoned and systematically abused by a person or persons unknown. The systematical abuse of young girls not being the most comfortable of topics, the film peaks your interest and sets a tone of uneasiness. As the early stages of the movie play out, there is an air of El orfanato (The Orphanage) to the style. A subtle dark undercurrent is played against the the rehabilitation of the young girl, and is carried well, even when story does take you to the inevitable, and predictable, early scares. It’s a strong opening, however this movie is really divided into thirds and this first section gives way to something very different.

The next stage of the movie is about revenge, and madness. It takes place years later, and a brutal home invasion and leaves you with uncertain sympathies. The feel of the movie changes to a much more modern style. Some of the early charm is lost and gives way to a more classic horror with a physiological edge. Finding the movie move to this well, if not over, trodden ground I felt a little let down. The now grown up girl from the opening of the movie, Lucie (Mylène Jampanoï), and her childhood friend Anna (Morjana Alaoui) create an interesting dynamic. Lucie clearly traumatized and increasingly insane, and Anna caring, and very much in love with Lucie (an odd and understated lesbian undercurrent). How far Anna will let Lucie go, and how much she believes in what she is doing, are at odds with her affections and sympathies for her. The violence is sharp and hard hitting but nothing new, and the physiological twist, no big surprise. However at the inevitable end of the section, the move changes tack yet again.

Martyrs does you the courtesy of tying the story up, and doesn’t leave you with unanswered questions. The final section of the movie explores more deeply themes of torture, sadism and suffering with a metaphysical and quasi-religious slant. The movie isn’t violence for violence sake, it refreshingly has a point.

The two lead actresses do a reasonable job but Morjana Alaoui stands out with the occasional strong performance. The capacity for human suffering, and out capacity to inflict that suffering on others will always have a dark fascination. The film’s irregular narrative path and uneven changes of style create deliberate disorientation, but at the cost of the movies flow. The plot leaves you with things to think about. However I can’t help but feel that although there is an interesting point to the movie, that point probably isn’t as nearly as clever the writer would like to think.

Bottom Line

A brutal and dark movie, exploring dark themes. The movie leave an odd taste in your mouth. And probably won't be for everyone, regardless of their tolerance for its graphic nature

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12 Responses to “Martyrs”
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• 
  
  September 4, 2009 at 14:00 | OneMetal Team Member
  Hannah Capocci says:

  It reminded me a bit of Hard Candy. I thought it was an interesting film, however I think that there was at least one unanswered question at the end!
• 
  
  September 4, 2009 at 18:43 | OneMetal Team Member
  William Ham says:

  LOL yeah there was a hit of Hard Candy to it, although I am really not sure why. Very different films. And yes, OK there was one question you could be left with, but not one that you held throughout the film. :P
• 
  
  September 5, 2009 at 19:53 | OneMetal Team Member
  Philip Whitehouse says:

  Hmm… I was initially a little sceptical about seeing this – recent French horror movies have either been spectacularly violent and unsettling (like ‘Inside’, for instance), or a bit empty and disappointing (I’m looking at you, ‘Haute Tension’) – but the comparison to ‘Hard Candy’ makes me want to check this out.
• 
  
  September 5, 2009 at 20:14 | OneMetal Team Member
  William Ham says:

  I don’t think that the Hard Candy feel was anything more then a hint in the middle section of the movie… Thinking about it we really should review Hard Candy, excellent movie.
• 
  
  September 5, 2009 at 20:51 | OneMetal Team Member
  Philip Whitehouse says:

  Yeah, a great debut movie… shame David Slade followed it up with the pretty-if-underwhelming 40 Days Of Night…
• 
  
  September 5, 2009 at 21:56 | Subscriber
  coral13 says:

  The story sounds really interesting. I am very intrigued to find out more about the particular scene which made people throw up.
• 
  
  September 10, 2009 at 13:38 | OneMetal Team Member
  David Cox says:

  Very interesting review, Will; I’ve been keen to see how this stacks up against Hard Candy. Will certainly check it out now…
• 
  
  February 8, 2010 at 18:15 | OneMetal Team Member
  Stephanie Carmichael says:

  Great review – I just watched this last night. I find your final statement very intriguing (“that point probably isn’t as nearly as clever the writer would like to think”), and I think I agree. However, I probably would have rated this movie a bit higher. I’ve literally never watched a more powerful, appalling movie. I was crying by the end—not because it was scary, or necessarily sad in the traditional sense, but simply because it was so graphically and morally horrendous. Not to mention the ending was just classic. Amazing film, but nothing I would ever watch again. And the grand effects that it does accomplish makes up for any shortcomings, in my opinion.
• 
  
  February 8, 2010 at 18:19 | OneMetal Team Member
  Stephanie Carmichael says:

  Also: Martyrs > Hard Candy, imo. :O
• 
  
  February 8, 2010 at 18:20 | OneMetal Team Member
  William Ham says:

  LOL that score is wrong, its supposed to be 3.5 I just clicked the edit link by mistake and because of a script I am using to test some things at work.. It messed it up. Dam iMacros and silly form field names.
• 
  
  February 8, 2010 at 18:27 | OneMetal Team Member
  Stephanie Carmichael says:

  Oh haha, that’s better. :D I probably would have given it a 4 or 4.5, I think. It was incredibly well-executed, and I think part of the reason I can’t find many shortcomings with it is because any possible ones only lent themselves to the ethical horror and unthinkable violence. I think the only real “point” was about human capacity for violence, especially in the name of religious curiosity. But the ending was the most horrible thing I have ever seen in a movie, because if there had been a resolution, it would have been tolerable somehow, even with everything that came before. My friend even walked out of the room. :O
• 
  
  February 8, 2010 at 18:28 | OneMetal Team Member
  Stephanie Carmichael says:

  Plus, it made House of the Devil (which I watched on Friday and loved, it was quite terrifying) seem silly and brittle by comparison. :O