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Based on the novel by Gillian Flynn, Dark Places is about the gruesome massacre of Patty Day (Christina Hendricks) and her two young daughters on a fateful night of 1985 at their country farmhouse in Kansas. There were two members of the household that survived the death fest, Patty's 14 year old son Ben and her youngest daughter Libby, 8 years old. Ben, who was then accused of participating in cult and anti-Christ practices and child molestation in a day care school, is arrested on the charges of mass murder, doesn't protest or appeal and Libby corroborated the charges in the courtroom.

Cut to 28 years later, Ben is still serving his life sentence and Libby (Charlize Theron) does nothing in particular having extinguished all the social financial support and the royalty earned from the sale of the book published to narrate the events of the Day family tragedy. She is now contacted by Lyle Wirth (Nicolas Hoult) who is acting on behalf of a group of investigators and journalists who believe that Ben was wrongfully punished for the crimes he didn't commit. Unwilling to cooperate initially, Libby is lured into leading the investigation that could potentially falsify her own judgement, memories and statements from her childhood because she sees financial benefits from the deal. As she reconnects with Ben and follows certain leads with the help of Lyle, she slowly starts to uncover the truth behind her dark past and a secret that devastated her family and led to the brutal murders.

Dark Places is perhaps not as cutting edge a thriller as Flynn's other novels like Sharp Objects or Gone Girl are, but certainly plays hard on human psychology, projecting the dark, complex and disturbing aspects of our minds. The suspense is baffling in the end although not really overwhelming and devastating. Charlize Theron shines in her role of the disturbed, indifferent and hardened Libby that was once a lovable little girl.

This film tells the story of a woman whose mother and her two sisters were murdered on their farm at night. Her brother is convicted of murdering the three family members. She gets contacted by a club that is intrigued by mysterious murders, and she is forced to confront her multilayered traumatic past.

"Dark Places" is a truly haunting drama that keeps me captivated thoroughly. Viewers are lead to believe from the beginning that there is something Libby is not completely honest about. As more of the past is revealed in flashbacks, and even more of the past is unravelled through various interviews, the shocking truth is finally revealed. The ending is very poignant. I really feel for Libby and Ben, who have squandered almost thirty years away. They could have lived and loved, but they let naïveté get in the way big time. I do hope more people will watch this film. I think it's very well done, and it leaves me wondering all the would haves and could haves in the plot.

I did not read Dark Places nor Gone Girl (the other Flynn's book) but I can really said that movie is slow but captivating. Theron is as always excellent and modest. Her character does not shine like the female character in Gone Girl; in fact her character is really an accessory to the story that basically happens in flash backs.

As a murder mystery; the end is somewhat unexpected but not completely convincing; but it is obvious that the important thing was the sadness, misery and tough decisions some of the characters had to make and its consequences.

It is an interesting slow cooked movie; far from commercial but worth seeing anyway

This is the first time – ever – that I'm able to write in a review that I read the book before I watched the film! I'm an avid movie fanatic and not much of a book reader, but for some reason I read both Gillian Flynn novels (this one as well as "Gone Girl") before they were turned into Hollywood movies with an all-star cast. "Dark Places" is clearly not as successful as "Gone Girl", because the release got pushed back a couple of times and this one isn't likely to ever end up in the IMDb top 250. Now, I always disliked that typical and clichéd statement: "the book is much better than the film", but I must admit that there's truth in it… Director Gilles Paquet-Brenner's screenplay adaptation is very loyal to Flynn's novel, and thus the basic subject matter is tense and unsettling, but for some inexplicable reason the book is compelling whereas the film is rather tedious… "Dark Places" tells the story of Libby Day. At the tender age of 7, Libby witnessed how her mother and two sisters were brutally slain in their Kansas farm at night, and she confirmed to the authorities that her 15-year-old brother Ben was the culprit. 28 years later, Libby understandably grew up to become an angry, secluded and insecure woman. Driven by financial issues, Libby accepts the peculiar Lyle's offer to attend a meeting of the Kill Club. This bizarre collective exists of people who're investigating infamous (and unsolved) murder cases, and they are convinced that Ben Day is innocent. Reluctant at first, Libby begins to unravel the mystery of what exactly happened on the awful night that ruined her life. The search confronts her with her imprisoned brother and her estranged father, but also brings new secrets to the surface about her mother Patty and her brother's long lost high- school girlfriend Diondra.

It's very strange and difficult to describe, but every new plot twist or revelation that was captivating in the book comes across as implausible in the film. Especially the character of the mother, Patty Day, was much more powerful in the novel. Her hopelessness and desperation isn't properly transferred to the screen and therefore a couple of essential twists near the end become downright unbelievable. Obviously this isn't the fault of the screenplay, because a book lends itself much better to describe emotions and mental states of mind in great detail. This is also the main reason why the protagonist character Libby never truly becomes the intriguing character she deserves to be. "Dark Places" definitely also suffers from a shortage of action, especially during the first hour, and the great potential of the "Kill Club" isn't elaborated properly enough (although that also wasn't the case in the book). Paquet-Brenner does, however, marvelously captivate the grim and depressing atmosphere of the Midwestern American slums and insolvent family farms. The performances are more than adequate as well, with particularly strong roles for Charlize Theron and Nicolas Hoult. Just a week ago, I also saw them act together in "Mad Max: Fury Road" but this is quite a different type of film. Christina Hendricks is amazing as the poor and pitiable single mother and I was also very surprised to see a strong role for Chloë Grace Moretz. "Dark Places" is a great book to read (personally I even preferred it over "Gone Girl) and the film is also definitely worth checking out, but I only recommend either reading the book or watching the film. Otherwise you're guaranteed to stumble upon the flaws more easily.

Dark Places (like a lot of movies, I guess) won't be everyone's cup of tea as it's a pretty slow-paced Thriller that concentrates on a decent cast delivering a good story. If you're more into faster-paced films then you more than likely won't enjoy this.

The story sees Charlize Theron play Libby Day, a young woman who believes that her brother brutally killed her mother and sister when she was 8-years-old. When Lyle Wirth (played by Nicholas Hoult), a member of a crime investigative group, manages to get in touch with Libby, and starts to provide possible evidence on what actually happened, Libby starts to doubt her own recollection of what actually happened that fateful day.

The story may sound a bit dull & unoriginal, but it plays out better than it initially sounds, and it also gets better as it unravels. It's also a story that you have to pay attention to, especially with the flash backs as there is no immediate indication the flash backs have started (but it doesn't take a genius to figure out when a flashback scene is being played). So, with the jumping back & forward from past to present, you do need to watch it carefully to get what is fully going on. Also, while there is no twist as such, the story does keep you guessing as to how it will pan out.

The cast all do a decent job with their individual parts as well, from Theron's performance as Libby Day, a woman who finds it hard to trust anyone and has become a bit of a recluse, to Chloë Grace Moretz's performance of a young manipulative Diondra. Put a decent cast in to deliver a decent story and you have yourself a pretty enjoyable movie.

As I mentioned earlier, it is a pretty slow-paced Thriller, and while I don't mind watching these, there were a few scenes where I thought it dragged a wee bit, but for the most part it is interesting and enjoyable enough.

It's not the best film you'll ever see, but Dark places is a good film that is definitely worth a watch.