Let's start off with this: I love Fox Searchlight. I really do. (500) Days of Summer. Sideways. The Tree of Life. Black Swan. Martha Marcy May Marlene. Adam. The Descendents. Over the years, their Sundance-snapping ways have given countless indie films well-deserved exposure in the UK.

So imagine my disappointment when I discovered that, hot on the heels of Another Earth’s release last year, Brit Marling's latest - Sound of My Voice - will be released in a whole two UK cinemas.

Ian Loring, of the always-impressive EatSleepLiveFilm, asked @Searchlight UK on Twitter what was going on. Their response: "Hi @ianloring [you should give him a follow on Twitter by the way]. The film will be LAUNCHING exclusively on August 3rd with Curzon Cinemas, playing at Curzon Soho and HMV Curzon Wimbledon." He promptly wrote this article about it.

Let's continue with this: I love Curzon. I really do. Wimbledon Soho and Wimbledon are both great sites. Indeed, the former has nothing less than the best (and comfiest) in-cinema cafe in the country. But you know what I also love? Curzon On-Demand.

Their streaming service, launched in May, lets you watch some of the latest theatrical releases at home for under £10. Yes, it's still mostly Artificial Eye releases, but now Curzon have got other distributors such as Revolver, Momentum, Soda Pictures and Picturehouse on board too. 

Price-wise, that's great for film watchers. Selection-wise, it’s decent. And then there’s the convenience factor. Indeed, Curzon On-Demand is the only way I was able to see Markus Schleinzer’s Michael (Artificial Eye) earlier this year after missing several screenings near me.

 

But if I struggle to make it to a London cinema to see a film and I live in the ruddy city, what chance does anyone outside of the capital have if they want to catch Sound of My Voice?

Just two cinemas, Fox Searchlight? Even if they're nice cinemas, that's not enough.

(Photo via Electrick Children Facebook page)

 

What was the first song you ever listened to? Did it make you pregnant? That’s what happens to young Mormon girl Rachel (Julia Garner) in Electrick Children. Her family in shock, she runs away from the fundamentalist Utah commune and into Las Vegas, followed by her brother, Mr. Wills (Liam Aiken), to find the father of her magical foetus. There she meets teenage loser Clyde (Rory Culkin).

Fused with an honest love of music and faith, it’s a beautiful piece of magic realism from debut director Rebecca Thomas.

How much of it is based on her own childhood as a Mormon? Does music really have the ability to knock you up? And what does all of this have to do with Billy Zane? The talented and lovely Becca sits down and tells me about mermaids, Mormons and the powerful playlist she has hidden away on her iPod…

 

Sean Durkin's Martha Marcy May Marlene is out in UK cinemas today. It's really good.

Why? Well, I could go on for days about Zachary Stuart-Pontier's inspired editing (he also cut Catfish) and how it gently blends the boundary between present and past using the tiniest gestures (a dip in a lake, the stirring of a glass of water). Or I could rabbit on for hours about how Durkin and his DoP Jody Lee Lipes spend the whole movie gradually zooming in closer on the fractured and vulnerable Elisabeth Olsen. I could happily shout in your face for hours declaring my undying love for Olsen's mesmerising performance - balanced out by John Hawkes' intimidating presence - or the careful unravelling of Marcy May's chilling attempts to escape the grasp of a cult.

Instead, I'm going to convince you to see Martha Marcy May Marlene in 3 minutes and 57 seconds...

Director: Sean Durkin
Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Hugh Dancy, Sarah Paulson
Certificate: 15

A young woman crosses a road in the middle of the woods – and in doing so, escapes from a cult that has taken over the past two years of her life. A teary phone call later, and she’s safe in her estranged sister’s (Paulson) house with her new brother-in-law, Ted (Dancy). She then proceeds to swim naked, walk in on them having sex and lecture her sister about smoking. And lots of other really odd stuff.

Why is Martha (Olsen) acting so strangely? She won't say, but writer/director Sean Durkin doesn’t rush to show us what happened.

Deftly intercutting her old commune life with her new family home, Durkin disorients us with flashbacks that echo her present day actions. Jumping into a lake, stirring a glass of water, lying in bed – anything can trigger a fragment of memory. "How far away are we?" Martha asks her sister. "From what?" she responds. "From yesterday."