Read Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places Before You See the Movie
We’re now living in a post-Gone Girl universe, where Gillian Flynn reigns as the Writer Most Likely to Mess with Our Heads. And before Gone Girl became the book everyone had to read, Flynn turned out two other incredibly tense thrillers, just as fraught with suspense and twisty plotting as her breakthrough 2012 book—and maybe even better.
Dark Places (Movie Tie-In Edition)
Paperback $14.00
Dark Places (Movie Tie-In Edition)
Paperback $14.00
Dark Places follows Libby Day, the survivor of what seemed like a Satanic ritual killing of her mother and sisters, a crime that happened when she was small and was pinned on her older brother. As an adult she’s recruited by the “Kill Club,” an obsessive group of amateur sleuths, to reopen the investigation off the record and help exonerate her brother of the crime. But, as she quickly learns, some atrocities are better left undisturbed. The book was published in 2010, and hits theaters in August with a film adaptation starring Charlize Theron. Here’s why, as with Gone Girl, you’ve got to read the book first.
Because Good Stories Don’t Fear Spoilers
Here’s a litmus test for whether a story is actually great (as opposed to simply being shocking, or relying solely on one awesome twist): it stands up to repeated viewings, or readings. If a story is ruined by spoilers, it wasn’t all that good to begin with. Dark Places is, like Gone Girl, absolutely bursting with twists that’ll make your head spin—but being aware of the twists won’t lessen your enjoyment of the film one bit.
Because It Will Help You Keep Up
In fact, reading the book first will probably make the movie more enjoyable, because Places is a very complicated mystery. This is not a typical whodunit with one solution to one crime; as the story proceeds you realize there are many moving parts that came together in surprising and unpredictable ways. We can’t yet know how successfully writer/director Gilles Paquet-Brenner adapted this dense story, but knowing how it all ties together is sure to help you keep everything straight.
Because it Will Help You Gird Your Loins
Flynn writes about characters who are, how shall we say this, not nice people. There are some good folks here and there in a Flynn novel, but as you may recall from Gone Girl, most of them either have dark secrets, behave in despicable ways, or both. Libby Day is, symbolically, the “Dark Place” of the story in many ways. Although she’s the character we’re supposed to identify with, she does things that aren’t exactly nic, that you might want to be forewarned about before you see them in living color.
Because It’s a Fantastic Book
Finally, books and movies just don’t offer the same experience, even if they hit most of the same plot points. The book has got a killer premise and is written with a beautiful tension, with lines that read like sinister poetry: “I sat upright in the yellow electricity. Pulled myself out of our murder house and back to my grown-up bedroom.” Simply put, reading the book will put you in the right frame of mind for what promises to be an electrifying film experience.
Dark Places follows Libby Day, the survivor of what seemed like a Satanic ritual killing of her mother and sisters, a crime that happened when she was small and was pinned on her older brother. As an adult she’s recruited by the “Kill Club,” an obsessive group of amateur sleuths, to reopen the investigation off the record and help exonerate her brother of the crime. But, as she quickly learns, some atrocities are better left undisturbed. The book was published in 2010, and hits theaters in August with a film adaptation starring Charlize Theron. Here’s why, as with Gone Girl, you’ve got to read the book first.
Because Good Stories Don’t Fear Spoilers
Here’s a litmus test for whether a story is actually great (as opposed to simply being shocking, or relying solely on one awesome twist): it stands up to repeated viewings, or readings. If a story is ruined by spoilers, it wasn’t all that good to begin with. Dark Places is, like Gone Girl, absolutely bursting with twists that’ll make your head spin—but being aware of the twists won’t lessen your enjoyment of the film one bit.
Because It Will Help You Keep Up
In fact, reading the book first will probably make the movie more enjoyable, because Places is a very complicated mystery. This is not a typical whodunit with one solution to one crime; as the story proceeds you realize there are many moving parts that came together in surprising and unpredictable ways. We can’t yet know how successfully writer/director Gilles Paquet-Brenner adapted this dense story, but knowing how it all ties together is sure to help you keep everything straight.
Because it Will Help You Gird Your Loins
Flynn writes about characters who are, how shall we say this, not nice people. There are some good folks here and there in a Flynn novel, but as you may recall from Gone Girl, most of them either have dark secrets, behave in despicable ways, or both. Libby Day is, symbolically, the “Dark Place” of the story in many ways. Although she’s the character we’re supposed to identify with, she does things that aren’t exactly nic, that you might want to be forewarned about before you see them in living color.
Because It’s a Fantastic Book
Finally, books and movies just don’t offer the same experience, even if they hit most of the same plot points. The book has got a killer premise and is written with a beautiful tension, with lines that read like sinister poetry: “I sat upright in the yellow electricity. Pulled myself out of our murder house and back to my grown-up bedroom.” Simply put, reading the book will put you in the right frame of mind for what promises to be an electrifying film experience.