There's a decent,
twisted murder mystery buried somewhere in Dark Places, the second
and much-less successful adaptation of a Gillian Flynn novel. With the stylish
hand of David Fincher guiding Gone Girl, that film took marital
discord to heights both playful and disturbing. But there's no fun to be had
here despite a swerving and ludicrous plot that practically begs for it, with
Gilles Paquet-Brenner's grim-faced direction deadening the mood until we no longer
care what secrets are unearthed. Despite a determined cast providing strong if
somber-as-Hell performances, these Dark Places are better left
in the shadows.
Downplaying her natural
physical gifts once again is Charlize Theron as the morose, ballcap-wearing,
used-merchandise protagonist Libby Day. As a child she supposedly witnessed the
brutal murder of her mother, Patty (Christina Hendricks), and two of her sisters
at the hands of her brother, Ben (Tye Sheridan). This was the 1980s and fear of
satanic cults molesting and murdering children was at a paranoid high.
Unfortunately for Ben he had dark hair and a gloomy disposition, and ultimately
he was railroaded by the courts and the media, all convincing Libby to testify
against him. Years later, and Libby has gotten along by milking the traumatic
experience for all it was worth. The royalties from the book she
"wrote" are gone, the donations from concerned strangers have dried
up, and Libby is faced with the possibility of actually having to work for a
living. 
Rather than do that, she
decides to accept an invitation from Lyle (Theron's Mad Max: Fury Road co-star
Nicholas Hoult) to attend the "Kill Club", some kind of celebration
attended by a group of hardcore true-crime enthusiasts. Much of their number
believes Libby lied on the stand and that Ben, who is on Death Row now, is
really innocent. For this Libby will, for some reason, get paid handsomely and
the "Kill Club" will get to ask her a bunch of really painful
questions about the darkest chapter of her life. Predictably, it doesn't go
well, but rather than cutting her losses, Libby decides to dig further into the
case even though she truly believes Ben (played as an adult by Corey Stoll) is
guilty. 
Libby's reason for
taking part in any of this nonsense is never fully explained but it's hardly
the most ridiculous thing to harp on. This thing is a clown show of impossible
coincidences, red herrings, and false flags, with some incredible mental
gymnastics necessary for any of it to make sense. Let's see...there's mom's
financial woes and an impending foreclosure; there's the "Jack Kevorkian
to serial killers" running loose somewhere; there's Libby's worthless father
who lives literally in a toxic waste dump (!!!); there are satanic Native
American bookies; a small dash of sibling rivalry; regretful strippers; hidden
births; and a ton of momentum-killing flashback told in grainy black &
white footage. There's even a little bit of young love in the form of
Ben's relationship with Diondra (Chloe Grace Moretz), but of course she's a
complete psychotic who takes pleasure in slaughtering cows. How do all of these
things connect? In ways that are about as believable as a $3 bill and just as
cheap. Simply put, the film ends in a manner that makes no sense and isn't at
all feasible. It relies too much on coincidence and information certain
characters couldn't possibly have had. Let's just say this isn't the tightest
thriller ever constructed. Maybe it's the fault of Flynn's novel or a shoddy
adaptation by Paquet-Brenner. Ultimately it doesn't really matter. 
For a woman of her
beauty and energy, Theron plays downbeat better than most and she's
convincingly glum here, as well. That we never come to understand Libby's
motivations for anything isn't a fault of the performance. The film begins with
Libby telling us in grim voice-over, “I have a meanness in me, real as an
organ". Apparently that's all the explanation we need. Hoult doesn't
get much to do but his odd, dorkish behavior is somewhat endearing, especially
during the bizarre "Kill Club" sequences. Moretz is enjoyably
maniacal and Hendricks believable as the desperate Mrs. Day. Sheridan and Stoll
turn in solid work; too, although there's no way in the world they should ever
play the same character again. 
The biggest problem with Dark
Places is that it simply isn't believable, and no effort is put forth
to make it so. Instead, a ton of absurd plot twists and disappointing
revelations are piled on top of one another in hopes no one will notice it
makes zero sense. Gone Girl was pretty improbable at times,
too, but by then Flynn had honed her ability to have fun with it, a skill Dark
Places desperately misses.
Rating: 2 out of 5
