Sound Of My Voice deserves an audience

Neil Martin checked out a film that has thus far only had a limited release:

Zal Batmanglij’s Sound Of My Voice has been turning heads at festivals this year and deserves to find a much wider audience. Peter and Lorna are aspiring investigative journalists attempting to infiltrate a mysterious cult in order to make a documentary exposing them as dangerous frauds. Maggie, the charismatic leader of the group, claims to be from the year 2054 and here to save and prepare a select few from the extreme hardships of the near future. Peter and Lorna find themselves getting drawn deeper than they expected and Peter in particular begins to question his motives and indeed his very existence as Maggie gets further and further under his skin.

Sound Of My Voice is well aware of its own budgetary limitations and the use of minimal locations brilliantly creates a cold, clinical & claustrophobic atmosphere that really adds to the sense of alienation and isolation from the outside world that the cult creates. The performances are uniformly excellent with co-writer Brit Marling outstanding as the mesmerising Maggie. The film takes some interesting turns towards the end that will leave you with many more questions than answers, which bodes well for future projects from everyone involved in this highly-intelligent, paranoid thriller.

Review by Neil Martin.