All Good Things

"All Good Things" is a love story and murder mystery set against the backdrop of a New York real estate dynasty in the 1980s. Directed by Andrew Jarecki (director of the Academy Award-nominated doc Capturing the Friedmans), the film was inspired by the story of Robert Durst, scion of the wealthy Durst family. Mr. Durst was suspected but never tried for killing his wife Kathie who disappeared in 1982 and was never found. The film stars Ryan Gosling as David Marks, Kirsten Dunst as Katie McCarthy, and Frank Langella as David's father, Sanford Marks.

From the beginning, the relationship between Gosling and Dunst is very intriguing and interesting; possibly the best part of the story. Their chemistry is very believable and charming. As David and Katie start their lives together, everything seems perfect. However, all good things must come to an end.

David's father does not approve of Katie or of David's lifestyle. Disappointment is all he sees in his son. David seeks to please his father, even if that risks his own happiness. Katie becomes increasingly independent, hoping for more out of their happy life and marriage. David likes things as they are. Soon enough, secrets from his past slowly begin to surface, resulting in mistakes and consequences that cannot be changed. I won't mention details into David's past, but it soon becomes apparent that this happy marriage wasn't meant to be. Jarecki does a very good job of showing us a perfect marriage as it slowly crumbles and falls into nothing. It's very effective, and at times, tough to watch.

Although it is difficult to get into his character, Gosling is superb. He does the best of what can be done with a character that isn't given easy material to work with. It's quite sad to see a character who obviously needs help, but is never able to get it. Dunst gives an incredible performance. She stole the show. Her character is of a woman who loves her "prince charming" with everything that she has, but as their relationship dies, she slowly disintegrates into an abused mess. Dunst gives one of the best performances of her career.

The first half of the film was good. Jarecki, however, did have issues with piecing together the second half of the film. This is when the supporting characters of the film became an important part in moving the story along. Truthfully, we did not know or care enough about some of these characters. It was difficult becomes there was no one that we could really root for. It was still interesting, but not nearly as good as the first half. Everyone gave great performances. Lily Rabe, Kristen Wiig, and Philip Baker Hall were wonderful. Not one bad performance out of the entire cast.

"All Good Things" is an intriguing story that studies two people as they rise to their greatest, but unfortunately fall to their worst. The performances make this film worthwhile. The film isn't perfect, but I found it to be a very interesting portrayal of a true story that will clearly blow your mind.

7/10

Let me begin with the acting. Very strong and good acting from all the major players on this film. Something you could expect, when you read the cast list. The story is decent too, but you might feel there is something missing (or maybe it was just me). Especially if you have seen similar movies.

The story evolves more or less linear (so you probably will be able to spot where this is heading), so it will mostly depend on your view on the subject and how much you like the actors in it. Again I liked both, but I think there is something missing, that I cannot really put my finger on, but I can feel it's absence. I know it sounds abstract, but I can still recommend the movie nevertheless

The stage curtains open ...

"What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course."

Since the release of this film in 2010, more light has been shed on the Robert Durst case (on which this film was based upon). The above quote was taken from the final moments in the final episode of an HBO Documentary called, "The Jinx", where Durst allowed himself to be interviewed and then seemingly, in the bathroom afterwards, forgot he was wearing a mic and unintentionally confessed to the murders. BUT, my review is for this movie, "All Good Things".

Ryan Gosling plays the part of David Marks (Robert Durst) and Kirsten Dunst as his wife Katie (Kathleen McCormick) as we begin when they first meet in New York in 1971. David witnessed his mother's suicidal death as a young boy and he was never the same since, impacting nearly everything and everyone that would later be a part of his life. He and Katie marry and start a new life running a house food store in Vermont called "All Good Things". Things are good until David feels the heavy pressure of his overbearing, wealthy father come down on him for not providing his wife a better life, and then later when she wants to start a family, he is deadset against it. If you know the story of the Durst's, then you know how this eventually ends up.

This was an entertaining movie with very good, strong performances by both Gosling and Dunst. Most especially by Kirsten Dunst, who was nothing short of mesmerizing in her role as the ill-fated wife. Despite the good acting though, the overall effect of the film was just "okay". By movie's end, they make it appear that he had managed to pull the wool over everyone's eyes even though everything else around hims shouts "suspicion"! How prophetic it turned out to be.

I did enjoy the movie, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. It is worth a one-time watch, and it is enough to stir your curiosity into looking up the real story and finding out the facts. I would recommend watching "The Jinx" over this, as it held my attention much more. This is 6 stars out of 10.

Greetings again from the darkness. Who among us isn't intrigued by a real life "unsolved" murder mystery? Throw in a very wealthy New York real estate family, a never-discovered body, an executed friend, and a horrible childhood trauma and it is certain to draw the attention of filmmaker Andrew Jarecki. Jarecki's film "Capturing the Friedmans" won numerous awards and is among the best documentaries ever made. He has a knack with dark family secrets.

In the film, Ryan Gosling plays David Marks, disenchanted son of Real Estate mogul Sanford Marks (a powerful Frank Langella), who witnessed the grisly suicide of his mother when he was very young. David meets the energetic and affectionate Katie (Kirsten Dunst) and the two dreamers escape Daddy's clutches and head to Vermont to open a health food store. Finally wilting under pressure from Sanford, the couple returns to the city and David joins the family business. The good things are soon to end.

Since much of the real life story is still a mystery, Jarecki does a nice job in assembling pieces from the trial records. Along the way, we meet David's friend Deborah Lehrman (Lilly Rabe), an acclaimed writer who seems to always be there for David ... as he is for her. We witness the transformation of David from loving husband to mentally disturbed murder suspect.

Jarecki gives us some guidance on what might have happened and how the plan could have been executed, but we'll never know for sure. What we do know is that there was not much happiness associated with this family, despite the wealth and 42nd Street real estate holdings.

The acting in the film is tremendous. Gosling, Dunst and Langella are top notch. Yes, Ms. Dunst provides what is easily her best screen performance ever. Support work from Lily Rabe, Phillip Baker Hall, Nick Offerman and Kristen Wiig is all strong and believable. This one will give you the creeps ... and rightly so.

I had never heard this story before, and found it very interesting in a way that kept me wanting more to see of this film.This movie kept me entertained almost the whole time. has some boring moments like every movie, but still a fantastic movie to enjoy on a weekday. I recommend it to film lovers who wants something more then the usual crap Hollywood has been giving us lately. It's not an Oscar movie, but it in my opinion it deserve high points at IMDb.

Really enjoyed watching Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst working together. they did a good job I think.

Summary: Good directing, Good acting, Good screenplay, Good film.

7/10