gone girl

Dark Places – Gillian Flynn

dark places - gillian flynn

Writer: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Mystery/crime
Released: 2009
Blurb: Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice” of Kinnakee, Kansas. She survived—and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club—a secret secret society obsessed with notorious crimes—locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club—for a fee. The unimaginable truth soon emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started—on the run from a killer.

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After finishing Murder on the Orient Express on holiday, I moved on to Dark Places; a natural choice as I loved Gone Girl so much.

Dark Places is a story about a seven-year-old girl, Libby Day, who witnessed the massacre of her family. She testifies against her 15-year-old brother, who ends up in jail.

Libby is still deeply emotionally scarred by the murders 25 years on, and is struggling with depression, to pay bills, to even get out of bed in the mornings. When one day, she receives a phone call from a man explaining that there is a growing belief in the community that her brother is innocent.

With the motivation of getting a bit of desperately-needed cash by speaking to this man, she begins to question what happened that day. Did she really see her brother killing her family? Or was this man right, in that Libby was just a confused seven-year-old, guided by police and councillors to testify against her big brother?

She goes on a rocky, dark quest to discover the truth. Previously buried memories are remembered, and hidden clues are found.

This was certainly a very dark story. More horror than thriller in parts, particularly due to the satanic themes. So it’s not really a novel I would whole-heartedly recommend to everyone.

I certainly don’t think Dark Places should have a ‘if you liked Gone Girl, you’ll love this‘ kind of review. Because they’re both rather different.

However, it still has Gillian Flynn’s genius way of writing. You’re bouncing all over the place, between different characters’ points of view (which I LOVE), from before, during and after the murders, and not once are you lost or confused. How does she do it??

What I have learnt from Flynn’s writing is that she loves flawed characters. Same with Gone Girl; there’s no goodie and baddie, really. They’re all bad and all good in one way or another. Mostly bad. But still human enough to relate to them in some ways.

Prepare yourself for the bitter self-loathing you’ll endure because Gillian Flynn is such an amazing writer. So amazing that it seems totally unattainable to ever become half as good as her. It’s very annoying.

She has a talent of describing exactly what she means in such few words. From memory, a line that stood in my mind was when a character was trying to get another character’s attention in an intimidating way, and Flynn uses the word ‘needled’ to describe the sharp annoyance of the character’s persistence. Who would have thought to use that word? You get the whole picture in just one word! Genius.

I thought I couldn’t enjoy a book if I didn’t like the main character. Turns out, I can. I was hooked! It’s a classic ‘who dunnit’ mystery, laced with terror, gore and fear.

Overall, yes, you must read this. It’s fantastic. Gillian Flynn is a remarkably talented writer. But just prepare yourself for satanic sacrifices and horrific descriptions. It’s a bit full on.

Now that I’ve finished the book and started Googling about it, I realised there was a 2015 movie based on this book! Dark Places, the movie, features Charlize Theron (totally wrong casting right off the bat), which I will be watching this week. I’ll let you know if the poor reviews are accurate!

Jodie’s rating: 8/10

The Girl on the Train

girltrain1

Directed: Tate Taylor
Written: Erin Cressida Wilson. Based on The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Released: October 2016
Starring: Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Justin Theroux, Haley Bennett, Luke Evans, Allison Janney (Juno’s mum!), Édgar Ramírez and Lisa Kudrow.
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The Girl on the Train is up there with Gone Girl! A mind-twisting psychological thriller, through the eyes of Rachel (Emily Blunt) – a frail alcoholic who is the last person to see Megan Hipwell (Haley Bennett) alive.

However, as we see the events unfold from Rachel’s point of view, you never know what is real and what has been imagined, as she struggles to remember what she saw .

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Is she the murderer? Was it the ginger dude on the train? Was it Megan’s husband? You honestly wouldn’t know for sure – massive twists!

We experience the battle against herself as she grows stronger and more focussed on trying to remember what she saw that night when Megan went missing.

I have read the book, and if I had of seen the movie immediately after I think I would have agreed with the public’s negative reaction of it being too different to the novel. As instead of it being set in the dingy outer suburbs of London, it is set in glamourous waterside mansions of New York.

Apparently the movie was always going to be set somewhere in the USA, because alcoholism is ‘less accepted there‘, and the juxtaposition of the character’s sadness with the glorious mansions she passed on the train made it visually shocking… I still don’t think it was necessary to change the country’s setting, but whatever. At least Emily Blunt was allowed to remain English.

girltrain3 I enjoyed it very much, though. The characters are believable and relatable (my two big ticks for every movie). Emily Blunt makes an amazing drunk person – that must have taken a lot of practice to look that authentic. It’s actually scary and makes you think twice about drinking.

I’m pleased they didn’t make her look flawless while she was drunk. I was worried they would make her look too ‘pretty’, but her cheeks are puffy and red, her eye make-up is smudged and her hair is messy – you wouldn’t know she’s a celebrity.

But if I had to be nit-picky, the male characters all looked far too similar. I guess this was to encourage you to see through the hazy eyes of a drunkard who couldn’t identify anyone. But with the film being visually dark, everyone having short, dark hair could get confusing if you didn’t know the storyline.

Or maybe it’s just our crappy TV that makes the contrast too deep.

Nevertheless, if you haven’t read the book you’ll likely enjoy it more, because you wouldn’t be able to notice the differences from the novel. But you may find it a bit slow-paced and long-winded at times.

Would recommend!

Jodie’s rating: 8/10

PS. On more than one occasion, I have been told that if I didn’t have crooked teeth, chubby cheeks or many of my current facial features, that I would look JUST like Emily! 🤪🤪 *so proud*.

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Good riddance, 2015!

2015 is finally over.

Anyone else feel like 2015 took a few years too long to come to an end?

Madonna I'm a material girl gif — I am now a material girl.

This time last year, I had just graduated from university to begin my career of job-hunting. I eventually landed a job in the industry I trained in – the media – which is an achievement in itself, really. I have learnt an awful lot about being a grown-up and earning a living.

However, it has meant I haven’t had much energy to do much else. Hence the pitiful turn-out for movie reviews this year.

During my ‘indoor’ time in 2015, I have discovered the TV show New Girl, featuring Zooey Deschanel, and the good-looking Jake Johnson.

Weirdly, I have been able to relate to this fictional show – at least for the first two seasons before it slowly faded into the Hollywood abyss of flattering lighting and two-dimensional characters.

But I digress…

Despite a predominately average 2015, I have ended this year on an unexpected high note by spending December with exciting people, and getting out of my comfort zone.

Now 22, I am ready to continue in this adventurous fashion, by following my passion for writing and travel. I am ready to see things that can’t be found in an air-conditioned office, and tick off some things from my bucket list.

Although, I did actually tick one thing off my bucket list quite recently, for some reason I had written “ride a bus for free” some years ago. I can only assume this was inspired by the Alanis Morisette song ‘Ironic‘

It’s a free riiiiide, when you’ve already paid

But, I really did get to ride a bus for free. The machine that takes your money broke, and the bus driver was all like, “WTF, OMG, YOLO” and let me on for free.

Despite this obvious rush of achievement, I am actually planning to tick larger things off my bucket list this year. Keep an eye out on my blog for developments.

So here we go: Here are the few movies I have reviewed during the year of 2015.

2015 reviewed movies:

Gold, Jerry, Gold!
9.5/10
American Graffiti (re-reveiwed)

9/10
Whiplash
Wild

Hoochie Mama!
8.5/10
Arthur Christmas
A Few Good Men
The Town

8/10
Big Eyes
Inside Out
Godzilla (2014)
Gone Girl

7.5/10
Into the Wild

Giddy-Up!
6/10
What We Did on Our Holiday
Big Hero 6

Yada, Yada, Yada…
4/10
Hector and the Search for Happiness

—

Indie, short and other films:
Goldfish
Courting Chaos
My Lonely Me
In the Mood for Love
All in One Creativity Kit
The American Garage
James Herman Banning: Greatest Story Never Told

All the best for 2016!
Jodie

The ‘Runaway’ Film Genre

I have referenced this unofficial genre in many film reviews of late, so I thought I should dedicate a post to it. Especially since it doesn’t have a Wikipedia page.

Because I made it up.

I did a check list for the genre in Wild. So I’ll copy and past it here, and elaborate.

THE RUNAWAY GENRE GROUND RULES:

One or two characters who have suffered trauma
Inner-conflict (usually expressed via flashbacks)
At least one emotional breakdown
Typically involves a marriage break-up or violence
Expression of every emotion
Writing down of feelings/diary-keeping
Genre that is mostly likely to conclude with tragedy (according to unofficial polling)
And of course… The act of running away

CLASSIC EXAMPLES OF A RUNAWAY FILM:

Borderline exceptions to the genre:

Now, I love this genre. Sure, I’ve made up the title and the rules, but they are typically wondrous, fantastical, deep, meaningful, adventurous insights into a character.

I love psychology, and these movies tend to play on why we make the decisions we do, and why we interact in the way we do.

Keep an eye out for films of this genre. They’re quite easy to pick.

Jodie.

Gone Girl film poster

Director: David Fincher
Writer: Gillian Flynn (based on her novel of the same name)
Released: October 2014
Starring: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry and Carrie Coon
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Let me just begin by saying, oh my Lord, Gillian Flynn wrote the screenplay to her own novel! That never happens!

When writing my last post, What are you like, Rosamund Pike? (about actors whose public perception changes based on the roles they choose), I wondered how I was going to write this review…

I was so shocked by Rosamund Pike’s performance – she was fantastic of course – but I wasn’t prepared for her to pick this role.

Let’s be clear, this isn’t the mystery/detective/Midsomer Murders deal I was expecting. This is a story of a manic, psychopathic panther disguised as a house cat.

Pike’s character, Amy, is the wife to Nick (Ben Affleck), when she goes missing. They were a seemingly perfect couple who live in the suburbs, but how happy were they really before this tragedy happened?

Their house is a gory crime scene on the day of her disappearance, so it’s assumed that a brutal murder has taken place and her body has been hidden, but who did it?

Gone Girl film - Ben Affleck's speech It gets dark very quickly by this point as they outline the characters’ backstories, and how it came to this.

Nick is thrust into the spotlight of the media, who struggles to be the likeable and concerned husband that the public expect. He is quickly labeled as number one suspect, and Nick gets lawyered-up!

It is certainly a tragic and unnerving film, with some scenes being particularly distressing so this thriller is not a sleepy Sunday afternoon kind of film.

Nevertheless, this is a psychological thriller, which is always one step ahead of you; it has you flip-flopping between characters as to who to root for.

Amy is portrayed as a trustworthy and humble suburban woman on the outside, but has a twisted mind. I was a bit terrified of her as we realise the full potential of her off-kilted psyche. But I still kind of liked her – she has a bit of Thelma & Louise in her storyline.

Nick is a good-looking, albeit, quietly egotistical, depressed and selfish man, so he’s not all that great either. But that doesn’t necessarily make him guilty… Does it?

As Pike said in an interview about this “social satire” film, we are all editing ourselves – on Facebook and in public – so who are we all really? What are we capable of?

Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl film

Gone Girl does challenge you to acknowledge the major social issues and kinks in human nature within society. As we’re rubbing shoulders with the best and the worst of humanity.

Jodie’s rating: 8/10

What Are You Like, Rosamund Pike?

I wanted to make a quick post regarding the fantastic English actress, Rosamund Pike. [EDIT: it’s not a quick post at all. I lied.]

I had one idea in my head about who she is, naively based on her characters in Made in Dagenham and The World’s End, but since seeing Gone Girl my image of her has been completely crushed.

Haven’t seen Gone Girl? Read my review here.

It’s like listening to an amazing song and having an idea of who the singer looks like, and what they are like in person. But then you find their photo, then you watch an interview… And then your whole perception of who you think they are is SCREWED.

Lisa - Made in Dagenham film In an interview I watched, Pike talks about how she was so happy to be given the chance to prove she wasn’t a fragile English girl who was “afraid to get her hands dirty.”

Rosamund Pike is clearly willing to push the boundaries in her career. So, good on those directors – like David Fincher – who give actors like her a chance to break out of their mold. That must be difficult to do.

I wonder if actors like Jack Black find a variation of jobs hard to come by. Or perhaps, like Ricky Gervais, they’re not looking for variation.

Gervais says he doesn’t believe actors should feel the pressure to be versatile. Gervais plays the same character in every film and tv show, and he thinks that’s perfectly fine for an actor to do. He reckons actors should do what they’re good at.

What’s Up, Shia LaBeouf?
From the outside, this change in [our perceived] celebrity’s identity seems jarring, as though they are acting out. Which, in LaBeouf’s case at least, perhaps is true..?

Or at least he went about his change of image in a more confronting way than Pike.

He was part of the Disney franchise, and now he’s doing everything he can to detach himself from that brand – getting into all kinds of nonsense, and taking all sorts of controversial jobs.

I wonder if this identity whiplash is common with actors. I can’t find the YouTube video now, but I’ve heard psychologists talk about actors (particularly after Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robin Williams died) being a troubled people who want to escape themselves. As though acting is a way to distance themselves from themselves.

So, maybe changing directions in their career is a chance to show the public that we don’t really know them at all – which of course, we don’t. It must screw with you a bit, having a distinct public image to compete with.

Just thought it was interesting, how easily actors can change our perception of them, as Daniel Radcliffe and Anne Hathaway have.
We do have clear ideas of who these celebrities are, and I think actors are in a prime spot to frequently distort that based on what acting roles they take – intentionally or not.

Now, before this turns into an essay, let’s not forget: they are only human beings pretending to be other people for money!

Sorry, this was originally about Rosamund Pike but I got carried away. Also, I just really wanted a rhyming title… What are you like, Rosamund Pike. Ha.

Jodie.