'Martha Marcy May Marlene' Trailer: New Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes Film Gets New Look (VIDEO)

Elizabeth Olsen's Dramatic Breakout

One shouldn't draw strict, taught parallels to the two situations, but it is interesting that Elizabeth Olsen's breakout film is one about escaping a cult and the subjugation of one's own person to finding a personal freedom. Olsen, of course, is the younger sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley, the two lifetime celebrities, forever in their shadow. Her two older siblings are not in any way cruel or menacing, like the film's cult leader, but both story lines, on screen and in real life, share the crucial element of the 22-year old star coming into her own.

Olsen's big vehicle is "Martha Marcy May Marlene," an indie drama in which she plays that girl who is seduced by, and then escapes, the clutches of the cult leader, portrayed by a grizzled John Hawkes (looking much the same as he did in "Winter's Bone"). It stole the show at Sundance, and is part of her big 2011; she'll also star in "Peace, Love & Understanding," with Chace Crawford and play a smaller part in "Red Lights," which stars Robert De Niro and Sigourney Weaver.

The film hits theaters on October 21st.

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