Sound of My Voice: A Review

I've been following the work of Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglig for some years. Their first co-written film, The East, focuses on a secret community of Eco-terrorists. Brit plays an undercover agent, who infiltrates the group. In Sound of my Voice, two budding documentary film makers, Lorna (played by Nicole Vicious) and Peter (played by Christopher Denham) infiltrate a mysterious cult, led by a mesmerising woman (played by Brit Marling) who claims to be from the future, the year 2054. Most recently, the Netflix hit,The OA, also comes from the minds of Marling and Batmanglig, that explore near death experiences (NDE's) and multiverse theory.

What the viewer can gather from the back stories, Peter and Lorna were required to “prepare” for the initial meeting with Maggie, the cult leader. An involved secret hand had to be learned, as this ritual is performed upon entering the basement before the meeting. The couple are picked up from their home, handcuffed and blindfolded, so as not to know the whereabouts of the cult house. Once they arrive, are required to shower, and clean themselves thoroughly, as Maggie is susceptible to disease, as she's from the future. Once the initiates are seated cross-legged on the carpet, Maggie enters the room dragging an oxygen tank behind her. Dressed in a sheet-like smock, she sits and begins her story. One morning, she states, awoke from a sleep while under water. She found herself face down in a full bathtub. She gets out of the tub fully nude, not knowing who she is, and where she's from. Walking the streets for weeks, Maggie depends on the kindness of strangers to survive. A man hears about the strange woman, who bears a tattoo on her ankle of a ship's anchor and the number 54. This man takes her in, knowing she is a messenger from the future. She tells the group the anchor represents the “traveler”, and the number 54, the year she is from.

Marling as “Maggie” gives a believable performance, almost creating an ambiance of danger and possible malice behind those beautiful grey-blue eyes. She has the power to kick out any cult member, which she does once, for the initiate insists on some kind of proof that she says who she says she is. Because they are stripped of everything, wearing only a sheet, Peter must divine a way to get recording equipment into the basement to film Maggie. What he invents to do this is quite ingenious, though he is almost caught, causing the audience to feel anxious. This was an excellent scene that reveals Batmanglig's skill as a director.

There are scenes in the film which make no sense, only to connect as the film unfolds. The ending leaves the audience with a few questions, pushing us to enter our interpretations.

The reviews were mixed because this was Marling and Batmanglig's first feature film. Some praised the film's originality, and Marling's performance, though generally dissatisfied with the story's ending. Like most feature films, the ending is usually tied up like a bow for the audience. In this case, taking a risk leaves the audience to engage their own imaginations.

For me, of course, loving art house films since a teenager, the ending was a welcome surprise.

The Sound of My Voice is worth a look at, even if only for its refreshing originality.