Faults (2014)

Comedy, Crime, Drama

Director: Riley Stearns
Writer: Riley Stearns
Starring: Leland Orser, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Ellis, Jon Gries

A "psychological thriller that involves two people in a room engaged in a power play."

Ansel Roth (Leland Orser) is a has-been, down-on-his-luck writer and cult expert who gets himself convinced by an elderly couple to carry out a "deprogramming" with their daughter Claire (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who has fallen under the influence of a mysterious cult. He puts together a plan to abduct her and lock her in a motel room, where he begins the procedure, but he soon discovers that the young woman has a formidable will of her own and eventually she turns the tables on him and a secret is revealed.

A powerful blend of dark comedy, sensitive character study, terrific performances (especially from Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and something altogether unusual, Faults is the excellent feature debut of director Riley Stearns (Winstead's husband) that takes an entertaining and fairly intelligent look at faults and cults within U.S. culture. Much like The Master or Martha Marcy May Marlene, Faults explores the desperation of individuals who seek shelter in fringe sects, but is different in the way it also exposes the desperation of one individual (Ansel Roth) who is trying to help reverse that impulse.

Plot summary from IMDb: A man who debunks mind control techniques as a profession must help a couple whose daughter has recently joined a cult.

Awards: 5 nominations.
Runtime: 89 min
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