Charlize Theron Goes to Dark Places

Gillian Flynn is one lucky lady. First we learned that Gone Girl was being adapted by Reese Witherspoon's production company,with Reese starring as Amy. At the time I waxed poetical on the merit of Ryan Gosling being cast as the husband Nick. Now Charlize Theron has signed on to produce and star in another of Flynn's other best sellers, Dark Places. Gilles Paquet-Brenner will write and direct. The French director has written and directed adaptations of novels before; notably Sarah's Key and Pretty Things (Les Jolies Choses in the original French).  My recollection of the Sarah's Key movie starring Kristin Scott Thomas  is that it was so-so; the book was much much better. I haven't read or seen Les Jolies Choses so I can't comment. I also haven't read Dark Places yet so I can't say much about that either. Except that Theron can play tough and I would imagine Libby Day, the protagonist in Flynn's crime thriller is that! Here's the publisher's description from Barnes and Noble. What do you think of Theron as Libby?

I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ. 
Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived–and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who’ve long forgotten her. The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details–proof they hope may free Ben–Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club . . . and maybe she’ll admit her testimony wasn’t so solid after all. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985. The events of that day are relayed through the eyes of Libby’s doomed family members–including Ben, a loner whose rage over his shiftless father and their failing farm have driven him into a disturbing friendship with the new girl in town. Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started–on the run from a killer. From the Hardcover edition

Source: Deadline