Dark Places (2015)

Libby Day was only eight years old when her family was brutally murdered in their rural Kansas farmhouse. Almost thirty years later, she reluctantly agrees to revisit the crime and uncovers the wrenching truths that led up to that tragic night.

Director:

Gilles Paquet-Brenner

Writers:

Gilles Paquet-Brenner (written for the screen by), Gillian Flynn (novel)

Stars:

Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Christina Hendricks

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlize Theron	...	Libby Day
Sterling Jerins	...	Young Libby Day
Nicholas Hoult	...	Lyle Wirth
Christina Hendricks	...	Patty Day
Corey Stoll	...	Ben Day
Tye Sheridan	...	Young Ben Day
Andrea Roth	...	Diondra
Chloë Grace Moretz	...	Young Diondra
Sean Bridgers	...	Runner Day
J. LaRose	...	Trey Teepano (as J LaRose)
Shannon Kook	...	Young Trey Teepano
Jennifer Pierce Mathus	...	Diane
Natalie Precht	...	Michelle Day
Madison McGuire	...	Debby Day
Lori Z. Cordova	...	Magda

Storyline

Libby Day is a lifeless woman who survived the massacre of her family in their farmhouse in the countryside of Kansas when she was eight. She's been living on donations and lectures ever since. Thirty years ago, the police believed that a satanic cult was responsible for the murder of her mother and two sisters, and her brother Ben was convicted with her testimony in court. Today, however, an acquaintance, Lyle Wirth, invites Libby to visit "The Kill Club", where amateurs investigate famous crimes, and she finds that they believe Ben is innocent. Libby needs money and, in return, accepts to revisit the slaughter of her family and comes up to the painful revelations and the ultimate truth.

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Plot Keywords:

private investigator | murder of family | farm | nonlinear timeline | murder of mother | 

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Taglines:

In 1985, her entire family was murdered. 30 years later, the truth emerges.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some disturbing violence, language, drug use and sexual content

Did You Know?

Trivia

Christina Hendricks was originally cast as Krissi Cates, while Samantha Morton was cast as Patty Day. When Morton dropped out just prior to filming, Hendricks took on the role of Patty, and Drea de Matteo assumed the role of Krissi.

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Goofs

In the bar scene, the song Keep Your Hands to Yourself by the Georgia Satellites is playing. The song was released in 1986, a year after this took place.

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Quotes

Libby Day: I am, I guess, depressed. I guess I've been depressed for about twenty-four years. I can feel a better version of me somewhere in there - hidden behind a liver or attached to a bit of spleen within my stunted, childish body - a Libby that's telling me to get up, do something, grow up, move on. But the meanness usually wins out.

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Connections

Referenced in On Cinema: 'Dark Places' and 'The Green Inferno' (2014)

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Soundtracks

Come See
Written by Turk Dietrich and Michael Jones
Performed by Belong
Courtesy of Kranky, Ltd.

User Reviews

A satisfying mystery that tells of savage desperation and sadistic cold-hearted murder

Ungodly and sinister, Gillian Flynn's Dark Places is just as devilish as you hope.

Again Gillian Flynn takes inspiration from the headlines, this time Dark Places sheds unsettling and ominous light on the famed mass murders that capture society's attention.

When Libby Day (Charlize Theron) was just seven years old, she was the lone survivor and he family was viciously murdered in what the media claimed was a satanic occult sacrifice at the desolate farmhouse in Kansas. Her brother Ben, just fifteen at the time, was found to be guilty. Twenty-five years later, in desperate need of cash and with no way to get it except capitalize and exploit her seedy past, she allows an organization obsessed with real life murders investigate the case with her help, as they hope to exonerate Ben. As she investigates her past, she opens old wounds and uncovers things about her life she had long since buried deep in her soul.

Not being able to speak of the novel, the Dark Places as a film does a great job of leading you on myriad paths of misdirection. The audience desperately following leads and evidence to discover the truth of what happened that fateful night in the when a family was brutally murdered, leaving two surviving siblings left standing when the carnage stopped. The multi-layered story is well paced and realistically utilizes real life murders and victims for a believable interpretation of a crime.

Gillian Flynn and her fellow screenwriter of the adaptation, Gilles Paquet-Brenner, do a marvelous job of refusing to resort to lazy exposition, showing rather than telling. The result is an engaging mystery that garners your full attention in the hopes you might be able to deduce the truth of the heinously bloody murders. Paquet-Brenner does double duty in directing the film, and translates the subject matter with cohesively gritty and complementary cinematography.

It seems as though fans of the novel were a bit disappointed in the casting for this film, that Theron does not match the physicality of Flynn's written description. Not knowing this fact, Charlize Theron is flawless as the tortured lead Libby. Her Libby and the medley of supporting characters are gripping and match the brutal content of the film.

Dark Places is a satisfying mystery that tells of savage desperation and sadistic cold-hearted murder. Given the weak and bland thrillers of recent years that shy away from the truly horrifying callous of human nature, fans of the genre should be pleased.

7.5/10 Please check our website for full reviews of all the recent releases.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA UK France

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 June 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dark Places

Filming Locations:

Shreveport, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$208,588

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,090,852

Company Credits

Production Co:

Exclusive Media Group, Mandalay Vision, Cuatro Plus Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1