Sound of My Voice

A film set in Los Angeles. Peter and Lorna are making a documentary. Their subject is a cult and they are trying to get inside. The procedure is strict. Their eyes are covered, they are put into a car, told to shower, dressed in white, and taken down to a basement. They learn a handshake. A complicated series of movements, and it is the only way in. Maggie lives in the basement. She is on a breathing apparatus; her immune system is weak and she does not go outside. Her claim is this: she has come from the year 2054. From there the film becomes a story of infiltration. Peter carries a camera hidden, records the sessions, and tries to prove Maggie is lying. Maggie describes the future. Civil war, famine and flight; she gives no detail and answers questions the same way every time. The members are asked to tell their pasts. The sessions resemble therapy and people come apart. Peter has a past of his own. He lost his mother to an illness, and Maggie somehow knows it. Lorna grows suspicious. She sees that Peter is being persuaded and suggests dropping the documentary. What the narrative is interested in is not a cult but proof: the film never settles whether Maggie is telling the truth and keeps the audience in the same place as Peter. The last scene is a turn. The narrative gives a sign, and that sign leaves both explanations possible. The structure is divided. The film consists of ten numbered parts and each opens with a title. It was made on a very low budget. Brit Marling co-wrote the screenplay and plays the lead; the pair released another film the same year. Brit Marling, Christopher Denham and Nicole Vicius are in the cast. Zal Batmanglij directed and co-wrote. Who it is for: anyone who likes low-budget, idea-led science fiction. Who it is not for: anyone expecting answers; the film confirms nothing and the sequel was never made.