David Fincher’s adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel Gone Girl was a sensational suspense-driven thriller and one of last year’s cinematic standouts. The film adaptation of Flynn’s other book, Dark Places, doesn’t land with quite the same punch. The film’s source material carries it far but not far enough to compete with Fincher’s lavish production.
Compared to Gone Girl, Dark Places is a slightly more-traditional mystery thriller. It follows Libby Day (Charlize Theron), the only survivor of a massacre committed by her satanist brother. Years later, the past still haunts her and with the loan sharks at the door, Libby ends up involving herself with Lyle (Nicholas Hoult) and his group of amatuer investigators. A group of true-crime junkies calling themselves “The Kill Club”, they want Libby’s help to reopen her brother’s case and bring the real killer to justice.
There’s a fascinating dynamic here and the setup poses some subversive questions about our own fascination and relationship with true crime. That said, the script does occasionally lean a bit too on-the-nose and reflexive for its good.
The level of acting in Dark Places isn’t bad, but it’s rarely memorable. Charlize Theron more-or-less carries the film. She’s very well cast here and strikes a great balance between exploring Libby’s identity to a degree that goes further than being just a victim – she’s a survivor.
Director Gilles Paquet-Brenner does a reasonable job bringing the film’s dusty rural aesthetic to life, but it’s a far cry from the distinctive and gloomy nihilism of Fincher’s film. His stylized depictions of Day’s struggle with her childhood trauma are interesting to watch but sometimes they miss the mark and feel a little cheap and mismatched with the other elements of the film.
Dark Places isn’t really bad but it never really executes on its source material well enough to escape the shadow cast by Gone Girl. Fans of the genre may get something out of it – especially those who haven’t read the book yet – but it’s by no means a must-watch.
Review Score: THREE OUT OF FIVE STARS
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