Comments on: Sound of My Voice (2012)

By: Roderick

Roderick — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 09:39:37 +0000

Indeed, 343, the fact that Maggie sings the song certainly points to its importance as a key to the narrative, a kind of abstracted emotional synopsis.

By: 343

343 — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 08:38:30 +0000

hi all.i enjoy to read all your perception about this film.
so as respond to sage comment,here my point.

this film just re-interpretation of The Cranberries song – Dreams.
to make this idea work smart, we can see many scene in Cranberries’s videoclip related with soundofmyvoice…so basic principle in this film.peter ask yourself.who am i..that is clue.

By: Sage

Sage — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 05:34:19 +0000

Thanks for this review. I’ve been reading reviews and comments around the nets and there was one interesting suggestion. When Maggie wakens in the tub, she is animating a (fresh) corpse. If there are two sides in the future, one which supports her and one against her, then the one against her would want to know what body she is now occupying. The justice dept. agent receives a photo and it seems like she has not seen the woman in the photo before, like this is new information.

Stay with me here — The only thing in that envelope was the photo. I think she was an anti-Maggie agent who was receiving information planted by unknowns so she could figure out what Maggie looks like. Another thing that struck me as odd was that box the tools and photo came in. It was from Bloomingdales. It looked quite dated. Though I admit, familiarity with department store boxes isn’t my strong suit.

I cannot pretend I have a full understanding of the film, but I do think that the intention of the filmmakers was to convey that Maggie is from the future. If Maggie is a con artist, running a scam, what exactly is her con? Getting people to hug each other? They don’t seem to be groomed for any purpose other than to have new survival skills and deprogram from the corporate culture, kind of.

I’d like to hear more ideas about what the clues point to, if anyone has other ideas. Thanks!

By: Roderick

Roderick — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 02:17:59 +0000

Hi Pat. So nice to know another appreciator of this film, as I was starting to feel lonely. But to me this is the kind of movie that reinvigorates my appreciation for independent film, a lot of which has become as formulaic as the Hollywood product it’s supposed offset. I’m not surprised that was Marling’s reason for turning to writing; most actors who do so do it for that sort of reason, and the intent to provide herself with meaty roles is fairly obvious. It’s particularly laudable in a younger actress, as you say. There are aspects of her style that still need to mature, and given how much these days gimmickry in screenwriting is prized I’m a little worried she won’t be encouraged to grow beyond it, but both this and Another Earth still gripped me far more than I expected because they’re both clever but also driven by powerful emotions. She’s one of the most exciting talents I’ve seen come out of Indieville in a while. That she’s also a kick-ass actress also helps. Batmanglij is also, I think, a talent to watch.

By: Pat

Pat — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 19:44:01 +0000

Rod –
Apologies for getting to this late – I’ve been wanting to read this post for a few days now. I stumbled on this film a few weeks ago in the video OnDemand listings late on a Friday night, and from the first scene, it really hooked me. It’s modest and flawed, as you note, but I thought it very effectively played with my perceptions of what was true and what was sham – I often changed my mind several times in the course of one scene. You sum that experience up very nicely with these words: The challenge to the audience—to interpret according to their presuppositions—is almost smug in its apparently clear dichotomy. Yet it’s leavened by a complicating ambiguity, as there are suggestions that the choice before the viewer is not a simple schism between faith and rationality, the wish to believe in Maggie and the need to dismiss her, as other dimensions are hinted at.

I read that Brit Marling took up screenwriting to create interesting parts for herself when she got tired of playing horror-film victims and “girlfriend” roles and I applaud her for that. I’m now looking forward to seeing Another Earth.

Great read as always, Rod.