Charlize Theron confronts family murder in 'Dark Places' role

LOS ANGELES -  A film adaptation of best-selling author Gillian Flynn's "Dark Places" stars Academy Award winner Charlize Theron as a woman revisiting a brutal family murder. Theron plays Libby who, 25 years after her mother, played by "Mad Men" actress Christina Hendricks, and sisters were brutally killed, confronts the tragic events of that night, investigating whether her jailed brother Ben, portrayed by Corey Stoll, was indeed responsible. The film also stars "X-Men" actor Nicholas Hoult and "Kick-Ass" actress Chloe Grace Moretz. "It is a huge ensemble cast and everybody has really fleshed out bony characters," Theron said at the film's Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday night. "The story is only as good as them and they get to tell it. I think that's what made it something really appealing to me, the idea of going to work with all these characters and telling this story." Theron, last seen in cinemas in "Mad Max: Fury Road", is also a producer of the film directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner. "I love the movie making process so whether I'm producing or not, I'm always on set. I don't like being in a trailer (or) ... isolated in a little room," she said of her producing role. "I'm fascinated by camera equipment and the crew that makes it happen." The movie follows the 2014 film adaptation of Flynn's best-selling novel "Gone Girl", which starred Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. "Dark Places" hits U.S. cinemas on Aug. 7. - REUTERS