ALL GOOD THINGS Movie Review
Before I saw ALL GOOD THINGS, the only things I knew about the movie were that it was based on a true story and starred Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst. I decided not to read anything else because I wanted to experience the movie without any expectations. Unfortunately, while I didn’t hate All Good Things, I can’t say that I loved it either, and it has a lot to do with the story.
As I mentioned All Good Things is inspired by a true story and that story is Robert Durst’s life and the disappearance of his wife, Kathleen Durst (nee McCormack), which is also the most notorious missing person’s case in New York history. While Durst was suspected of killing his wife, he was never tried for it.
In the movie, Ryan Gosling plays David Marks, the son of powerful real estate tycoon, Sanford Marks, who has no inspirations to work in the family business, but instead dreams of opening an organic store in the country. When he meets Katie Marks, the two married and decided to open that famous organic store. However, their happiness is short live when David’s father finally convinces him to come back to the city and join the family business. As things get from bad to worse, we are exposed to a new side of David and the destruction of his marriage, which lead to some terrible secrets being revealed and an appalling ending.
What I enjoyed about All Good Things is that they decided to interpret the facts of the original case and give us their version of what could have happened. And as a sucker for those true crime TV movies that air on Lifetime, it was very satisfying to get some sort of resolution to the story, even if the real story doesn’t have one. However, I did find the film to be a bit too long. Because the case is only interesting up to a certain point, a big chunk of the movie could have been cut shorter to keep things moving.
On the other hand, I think the thing that saves this film is the performances. While the story is nothing original, Ryan Gosling once again transforms himself into a very interesting, albeit peculiar character, which gives you that uneasy feeling you are supposed to get while watching him. Kristen Dunst also holds her own as the sweet Katie, who only wanted to live a happy, regular life with her husband. And of course let’s not forget the brilliant Frank Langella whose character pretty much sets in motion the whole story.
Overall, I wouldn’t really recommend you see All Good Things in theaters, but if you like me enjoy these true-crime stories, you might want to watch it when it’s released on DVD.
But of course, if you really can’t wait to see it or if the subject matter is really something that interests you, All Good Things is now playing in New York and Los Angeles, as well as a few other cities and will open in additional markets on December 17th. You can find the full list of dates and cities here.
You can also find all our coverage of All Good Things here.
