Quite often “indie” movies try very hard, and fail miserably, to shroud themselves in ambiguity in an attempt to make the audience feel there was a deeper meaning, when in fact there is just a shallow void. Sound of My Voice, however, has found a fairly happy medium. Important questions are commonly answered with more questions which, of course, lead to even more questions, which would be very annoying if the revelations and subsequent questions weren’t tantalizing and the characters that needed to find the answers were flat, personality negative, talking heads. But, much to our benefit, those presented here are well rounded and deserving of attention.
The most compelling character in the film is the enigmatic leader of the budding basement cult, Maggie. Marling’s turn as the perpetually dying, yet always stunning, time traveler is terrific. Her presence is simultaneously commanding and inviting, not only by the embodiment of the character, but also by the good film making techniques of Zal Batmanglij; using her followers (particularly Peter) perspectives to guide our attention to her. Maggie is also the source/focus of the film’s ambiguity, not only in the nature of her character (Is she really a time traveler? Is she dangerous?), but also in her interactions with, and the questions she asks, her followers. There is a particularly intense interrogation of Peter, where both Marling and Denham display their respective talents quite nicely.
Christopher Denham and Brit Marling in “Sound of My Voice.” © 2012 – Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Yet, as much as I enjoyed the development of Maggie, and subsequently Peter and Lorna, I found the use and development of the secondary characters lacking, especially within the group. Peter and Lorna, armed with spy camera spectacles, start off making a documentary with the goal being the unraveling and demise of Maggie’s following. However, I don’t feel their efforts were good enough. They’re supposed to be investigative journalists but, other than getting their foot in the cult, they never really investigate anything. In my opinion they were too passive most of the time, letting the meetings run their course without using the opportunity to gain what should have been, to them at least, valuable information about how the group formed or what its plans are. What makes cults so interesting, or scary, is the group thought of its followers, and I feel if the story had allowed the personalities of some of them to come out and show us their beliefs and motives for being there it would have only heightened the Messianic aura of Maggie, as well as Peter and Lorna’s desire to expose her.
My favorite aspect of the film, however, was not the characters or the questions but the manner in which each follower/recruit enters the meetings: a secret handshake! Yup, that’s correct, this movie has a secret handshake, and not just a lazy fist bump to clap and snap number. Oh no, this one is a complex and intricate melding of classic moves and never before seen techniques. Seriously, I’m not kidding, it’s very impressive. In fact, if you venture over to the film’s official website you’ll find a step-by-step breakdown of it, as well as an opportunity to view the first twelve minutes of the film itself. So, if for some reason you find yourself uninterested in the last seventy or so minutes of Sound of My Voice, you’ll at least know a sweet new handshake.
