"Dark Places" Review
When a book becomes a movie there is always one main question: how will it compare? For Dark Places, there is a second, more challenging question: how does it compare to Gone Girl? Fans of Gillian Flynn have most likely read all three of the author’s spectacular books: Dark Places, Gone Girl and Sharp Objects. As an author, Flynn weaves tales of women facing a grim (often self-imposed) challenge. There are consistent themes throughout all three of her novels, creating quite the challenge for turning these books into movies, especially with Gone Girl’s critical success.
Dark Places is intentionally disorienting as the pieces of Libby Day’s past and present are brought to screen. Between grainy flashbacks, we meet current day Libby as she grapples with a dismal financial future. We learn that she has been living off donations from strangers who want to show their support after the gruesome murder of her mother and two sisters. Libby and her brother Ben survived that night — although Ben has spent many years locked away after being charged with the murders. Faced with a shrinking bank account (and no job to speak of) Libby turns to the Kill Club, a gathering of murder super fans, who are willing to shell out $500 bucks for her to make an appearance at their latest gathering. Much to Libby’s dismay, the Kill Club is not just a group of fans, they are vigilantes — hoping to prove that her brother Ben was wrongly accused of the murders. Libby’s financial motivation, coupled with the persistence of the Kill Club, get the story going and takes the audience back and forth in order to figure out who really killed the Day family.
There is no doubt about it, the cast for Dark Places is stacked. Libby’s mother is played by Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks, the treasurer of the Kill Club is played by X-Men’s Nicholas Hoult and Drea de Matteo even makes an appearance as old classmate turned stripper. By and far, the most notable performance is delivered by Chloe Grace Moretz, who plays a teenage love interest of Ben’s. Moretz is a fiery scene stealer and this reviewer wishes the whole film was based around her character, Diondra. Charlize Theron plays present day Libby Day and delivers a “dark” performance, but at times she simply tries too hard. Moretz pulls off enigmatic Diondra naturally, in a rather frightening way.
Although Dark Places sprang from the same mind of Gone Girl, the two films simply do not compare. While Gone Girl takes on Flynn’s twisted tale with a cool and crisp approach, Dark Places feels clunky and all too aware of its purpose. Director Gilles Paquet-Brenner’s jerky camera movements and approach to the film’s major themes feel forced, put in as part of a checklist rather than as an artistic statement. Separating it from its Gone Girl counterpart, Dark Places does function as a somewhat thrilling, more decadent episode of Law and Order: SVU, which is always worth a watch.
Rating: B-
"Gone Girl" Review
If director David Fincher is signed on to a movie you can expect it to have a signature tone and pace. Fincher’s latest, “Gone Girl”- save a few scenes- does not disappoint. Despite it's main character's being people you probably don't care for, it’s a mystery of blockbuster proportions that will have you hooked.
On the day of their five year wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) comes home to find his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) missing. With signs of a struggle inside the house, and Nick’s nonchalant attitude, he quickly falls under the microscope of the police and public as suspect #1. Part of the brilliance of the story is that we see their courtship and marriage from beginning to present unfold through Amy’s diary and the investigation. As the story moves forward we learn that things aren’t as they seem.
You can only go so far in reviewing the film without getting into spoiler territory. The key to the film’s success is that it hypnotically sweeps you into the whirlwind of the missing person investigation. The performances from the actors are top notch across the board. Affleck’s ability to play an “every man” works to this film’s advantage as you don’t know whether to trust him or not. Carrie Coon is excellent as Nick’s twin sister. The chemistry between the two is as good as it gets. Tyler Perry turns in his best performance...ever...as an extremely talented attorney, Tanner Bolt. Pike’s performance is the standout of the group and when you see the film you’ll know why.
The film would be perfect except a few scenes that pull you out of the movie, making the tone feel comical when it shouldn’t. Outside of that, Fincher has you in the palm of his hand for the two and a half hour run time of the film. The lengthy run time is necessary to tell the full story, and it moves surprisingly fast. In fact, you probably will want to see more by the time it ends, and the ending will probably be much talked about.
Rating: B+