This is a review of the movie, not the book. Alas, I have yet to read the book. Written by Gillian Flynn, the author of Gone Girl, I need to check it out, but haven’t.
But the movie, peeps! So good! It was one of those quiet suggestions on Amazon Prime which I settled one just because nothing else seemed interesting. And I was so delighted.
Caveat, though: it’s dark. I like dark, but I sometimes find that when I offer recommendations, people will often say to me afterwards, “Damn, that was dark.” So, again, you’ve been warned. Still interested? Read on.
Charlize Theron’s character, Libby Day, is the survivor of a massacre that killed her mother and two sisters when she was eight years old (told ya). She’s an aimless adult who has lived off the notoriety and the cash that sympathetic strangers have been sending since the murders. But that gravy train is coming to an end, and she’s short on cash. She’s contacted by a Kill Club that likes to investigate old murders and gets sucked in to reexamining what she thought she knew about the death of her mother (played by an amazingly understated Christina Hendricks) and sisters.
First of all, on a purely professional level, I am seriously jealous of Flynn’s ability to come up with wacky back stories for her characters. It reminds me of Amy Dunne’s childhood in Gone Girl, that of being “Amazing Amy,” the inspiration for her parents’ series of children’s books that have made its title character beloved by millions. I mean… who thinks of things like that? I hope to come up with at least one such clever and implausible backstory for a character at some point.
Second of all, this is a fun movie if you’re a fan of the murky recesses between right and wrong. The story has the expected twists and turns (although not the brilliant reveal halfway like Gone Girl), but, in the end, there is no one who is all good or all bad. Like in life, I guess. I found it a totally satisfying way to spend a couple of hours.
Click here to watch the trailer.
