User reviews

Captivating and enigmatic, "Sound of My Voice" shows that you can effectively rack an audience's mind with a micro-budget. While many of the strange details and set-ups are left open ended, it's the kind of film that will you have talking with others trying to fill in the blanks long after you've seen it. In some ways, they plant more details than necessary in what seems to be an attempt to confuse the audience and test their attention.Overall, the actors in the film do a great job (especially Marling) and it proves to be a promising directorial debut for Zal Batmanglij. If you want something that also pulls at the mind emotionally, I would recommend "Another Earth".

If you are into films that are original and make you think as you leave the theater, this is the film to see while it is still in theaters. Christopher Denham and Nicole Vicius portray a couple attempting to infiltrate and expose a cult led by Brit Marling's Maggie but find themselves in too deep.

The film, presented with little back story and minor music cues leaves only the actors and scenes to bring the emotion and interest. All the actors do a good job with the material and if you go with the scenario being presented it's quite engrossing. The end result is a film that forces the viewer to do some of the heavy lifting to determine if Maggie is who she says she is or if it is all a scam.

Having seen "Another Earth" and "The East" in which Brit Marling is both the star and a co-author (plus "Arbitrage" where she just has a support part), I wanted to see "Sound Of My Voice" which she co-wrote at the same time as "Another Earth" and again provides her with a leading role. As with "The East", the other co-writer and director is her friend Zal Batmanglij and, as with "Another Earth" and "THe East". she was also a co-producer. Clearly Marling is a bright and ambitious actress who is not going to wait for good roles to be offered to her, but determined to craft them herself.

"Sound Of My Voice" was always going to have a limited appeal, since it is so incredibly low budget and markedly slow, but I found it original and mesmerising as it tells the story of Maggie who is either a visitor from the future with some important insights and messages or a complete fraud who is creating a dangerous cult. Out to expose her are Peter (Christopher Denham) and Lorna (Nicole Vicius) who want to make a revelatory documentary but find that Maggie is harder to read and to expose than they imagined. It is a pleasure to find a plot that is different and thought-provoking and Marling is definitely a woman to watch.

I saw this at the 2012 Palm Springs International Film Festival. An LA journalist and his girlfriend Peter (Christopher Denham) as Peter and Nicole Vicius as Lorna go underground to investigate a cult led by a woman who claims she's from the future. Brit Marling stars as Maggie, the mysterious cult leader with Richard Wharton as Klaus, her dedicated right hand man who brings the members and potential members of the the small group of followers to Maggie's home where she conducts meetings in her basement. Zal Batmanglij directs and co-wrote the script with Marling. Nice music from Rostam Batmanglij with a good-looking production value thanks to cinematographer Rachel Morrison and production designer Scott Enge. This was originally conceived as a 10 part webisode which is why the annoying and unexplainable numbers from one to ten keep popping up every few minutes. Fox Searchlight bought this and turned it into a theatrical release where it debuted as a big hit at the Sundance Film Festival last year. This comes across as more like a TV pilot for some Sci-Fi channel series than a movie. Even if a sequel to it were made as a film, it would spend the entire film just trying to explain and fill in the many unanswered story line subplots and backgrounds. Just too many loose ends here to a semi-interesting story that takes you nowhere. Would probably make a good TV series but this as a film fall flat. I would give this a 6.0 out of 10.

I saw Sound of My Voice at its SXSW following its premiere at Sundance. It is a weird little film about a two documentary filmmakers investigating Maggie - a cult leader who claims to have traveled back from the future. It was made on a shoestring budget which can be seen in some of its sound and editing. While the film is a decent first effort by some talented amateur filmmakers, it feels oddly unfinished. The acting is okay, but nothing spectacular. The script is a classic presentation of the one of the oldest of cinematic and literary conflicts between faith and reason. Do you believe that Maggie is a time traveler or is she a fraud? The journey is perhaps more interesting than where it ultimately ends up. The trip to that end is worthwhile and really quite creepy and disturbing at times. Maggie is a perplexing enigma and the cult's beliefs and rituals are quite mind-boggling.

The cult members seem quite willing to believe anything in the existential quest to give their lives some meaning. They seem to want to be led somewhere and Maggie is very willing to take them. In that sense one can ask what the real difference is between a cult and an established religion. Many scholars would say not that much other than how long they've been around. The final twist is ultimately not all that shocking or truly expected. Still, a good first effort that may allow the filmmakers to move on to bigger and better stuff.

This movie was okay. It's not fun or entertaining, but it's interesting and pretty well acted. It really should have been a 45-minute pilot for a series, not a movie twice that long.

The interesting idea could have been explained in a few minutes, so spending so long setting it up seemed overindulgent and a little boring.

It might be worth watching if you like slower movies that focus on acting and ideas, rather than entertainment or events.

'SOUND OF MY VOICE': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

This science fiction/psychological thriller received high critical praise and award recognition from film festivals last year and was nominated for multiple 'Geek Oscars' (if you take those seriously at all). It was directed and co-written by Zal Batmanglij and is his first feature film, following a 2007 Sci-Fi short (which also starred Brit Marling). Marling not only stars in this film (with Christopher Denham and Nicole Vicius) but she also co-wrote it. The film revolves around a couple conducting an undercover journalism investigation of a cult whose leader says she's from the future. The movie is interesting and somewhat involving but it's one of those films that will disappoint many by leaving almost everything unanswered.

Denham plays a substitute schoolteacher named Peter and Vicius plays his writer girlfriend Lorna. The two are conducting their first journalism experiment on a small cult. The cult is lead by a gorgeous but mysterious young woman named Maggie (Marling). Maggie claims she's from the war torn future of the year 2054 and has came back in time to find a group of people to better prepare for it. Peter and Lorna earn the cult's trust and are driven, blindfolded, to a hidden location where they meet Maggie. They join with eight other participants, in her psychological experiments, where she tells them about the future (but never in very much telling detail). At first both Peter and Lorna are eager to expose Maggie as a fraud but Peter soon finds himself drawn in and intrigued by her (much to the disappointment of Lorna).

The film has an interesting premise and is involving enough to keep your attention for it's somewhat fast paced 85 minute running time. It's nicely directed with a beautiful soundtrack and score and the acting is all decent. Marling is beautiful and compelling as the film's central character, Denham is relatable enough and Vicius is just beautiful. Those who need resolution in their films probably won't like this mystery much but those just looking for an interesting concept that poses a lot of intriguing questions, without giving any answers, will probably be delighted. I found it to be interesting and entertaining enough but nothing spectacular.

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I saw this film at SXSW where it was playing following the film's premiere at Sundance. The film is about 2 documentary filmmakers who are determined to expose a cultleader, played by Brit Marling, as a fraud. The more time they spend with the cult, however, the more the filmmaker's relationship to each other is tested -- one continues to dismiss the cult as a hoax while the other considers the possibility, ever so slight, that the central claim of the cult leader may be true. Unlike many low-budget Indie films, the pacing was superb -- there was never a dull moment that made the film feel slow. This is partly due to the film's well-crafted suspense - we, as an audience, are constantly asking ourselves the same question that the protagonists ask: could the cult leader possibly be telling the truth? This film leaves you guessing until the end and when the answer is finally revealed, you are left with a desire for more. The only weakness is a few confusing scenes - (e.g., an FBI investigator debugs her hotel room without explanation. A young girl behaves strangely in class and its never revealed why.) According to interviews, director Zal Batmanglij is working on a trilogy that will continue the story -- very exciting news. Perhaps most satisfying about this film is that it shows that you can make a compelling story come to life on a shoe-string budget. I think this film would play well to mainstream audiences and it deserves a wider release.

Some may find this Indie Movie indefensible because of its ambiguity and sight some confusing scenes and a less than satisfying ending. But this is a very good effort and has enough quality Production value for its budget that makes this impressive.

The Actors all give it their all and are obviously invested in this slightly offbeat Film. It is undeniably disjointed but that may be by design because it does give it a surreal feel and a brain kink. Nevertheless, this is engaging enough with a good Script that probably should have been a bit more revealing, but not so much that it stops stimulating the thought process.

This one has quite a buzz and deservingly so. There are many interpretations from involved viewers, and some will point to that as less than intelligent writing and a sophomoric cop-out. Artists usually are appreciative to that kind, any kind, of attention.

Sound of My Voice was one of the best-crafted feature films at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. I was fortunate enough to secure a ticket for the screening at The Library theater, and the place was packed.

Sound of My Voice is the story of two amateur documentary filmmakers who decide to infiltrate a secretive cult run by a mysterious woman who calls herself Maggie. They want to expose the cult for reasons that become apparent later in the film. Sound of My Voice is a thriller, so it is hard to describe much without giving away key plot elements, so I will simply say that the acting is superb throughout.

The real standout is double-threat Britt Marling who not only stars as Maggie, but also co-wrote the screenplay with Zal Batmanglij (Marling also co-wrote and starred in Another Earth -- which was also a Sundance standout).

The cinematography, editing, and score lend just the right edgy feel to this film. Even though Sound of My Voice was shot on a micro-budget, it pays off better than most of the indie films one sees at your local art house. In fact, I could easily see this film crossing over to play at some commercial theaters in large cities. You will be on the edge of your seat, desperately trying to discover the truth, and when the lights come up, Sound of My Voice will both satisfy and leave you begging for more.

Though disjointed in a way; set ups that are never completed, not many fully developed characters, and lots of unanswered questions – I feel it works. It works on a higher level, in that, if really put into that situation, I'm sure there'd be a mile-long list of unanswered questions and uncertainties.

It held my attention throughout, but not sure if that was due to interest or confusion. The film was broken into 6(?) Chapters, though not ultimately sure what they were to signify or how they are tied in to the story (the only obvious significance was showing the passage of time). I enjoyed the simplicity of the film, and the fact that the plot was somewhat original.

I could spend 3hrs writing a review on how many holes there are in this movie. The acting is sub-par and the plot is beyond terrible. Do yourself a favour and shove a fork in your eyes before "viewing" this movie it may actually improve it. The bland, jittery visual "realism" can't counteract overheated performances of tin-eared dialogue, which strain for pulp but often land at soap.Holds your attention for a while, but fails to build much suspense as it races toward a predictable climax. It probably would have worked better as a series of Webisodes, which reportedly was the original plan.In the end, the film doesn't add up to much of anything, but its individual parts are sometimes greater than its whole.

I ended up watching this film because I thought the premise was interesting. Two people attempt to penetrate a cult housing a self proclaimed traveler from the future.

Honestly some sections were a bit slow, but not slow enough to lose focus. Sill I thought it was very well done, and draws parallels to faith and belief in our current society. The actors were convincing and I was enthralled the whole way through. Great break from the blockbusters out there, relying on concepts and ideas instead of flashy visual effects. Overall worth the watch, very open ended and will definitely leave you think thinking!

this is one of those films which make you think and reason. there is this journalist who along with his girlfriend infiltrate a cult whose leader claims that she is from the year 2054. there are a few scenes which are really very special and gripping. the acting is competent all round. the ending is somewhere between expected and a big WOW. would recommend this to m y friends who love movies like the fantastic Martha Marcy May Marlene, to me the definitive movie about a cult and its weird customs, and to those who are all eagerly waiting to watch The Master. 3out of 5 for this. there are not many new things but the old ones are done well. loved it. the 80 minute duration also helped.

I really didn't think I was going to like this movie but by the end I was pleasantly surprised. It left me thinking and wondering which is something I really enjoy getting from a movie. It's a bit artsy and snobby in my opinion which is why it wasn't perfect but stick it out and you may be pleasantly surprised by the end.

I loved this film. Must be watched without distraction, to allow yourself to be immersed in the mood and flow of the piece, to feel at times like a person investigating a cult, at times like a person with doubts, at times like a person embracing it, while at times as a person ... in bewilderment ... and wonder. Emotions that draw you in, just as they draw in the cult members.

Needless to say this is not a special effects film, despite the "science-fiction" question it raises. It is all about the people.

All those involved in writing, producing, financing, directing, and acting in this film, deserve an incredible amount of credit.

I read the synopsis for this movie and thought it sounded very interesting. My conclusion: Just read the plot line like a miniature novel and you can appreciate the story much more. I didn't much care for the movie in comparison. I felt it could've been done much better.

I agree with the other reviewer calling the ending a cop-out. There was just so much missing with the movie. It also would've been much better with character actors that had more charisma, particularly with Maggie who is supposed to be incredibly charismatic but just comes off incredibly weird (I'm sure it's sort of the point, but couldn't she have been at least a little charming since it calls it?).

Let me begin by saying the movie was great throughout. It's original, thought provoking, and you are always suspenseful throughout the whole movie, guessing as to what could come next. For the budget it was made on, the movie looked quite professional, with great acting as well. But one of the big problems I noticed people had with this film was the plot holes, the missing details. Luckily, these aren't huge gaping holes that make the main story confusing, just details like why the child was acting so strange.

There are two ways you could look at this though. You could see it as the directors being lazy and not explaining everything, or you could see it as the directors purposely leaving out those details, making you actively think about the video. I tend to think the latter, especially in this case. People said that inception was confusing too, but that's what made it so much better then your average movie. Rarely does a flick ever come along that makes you think instead on just passively watching a TV screen, and this is one of them.