All Good Things

Movie Title-- All Good Things

Release Year-- 2010

Running Time-- 1 Hour and 41 Minutes

Director-- Andrew Jarecki

Cast-- Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, Frank Langella, Lily Rabe, Phillip Baker Hall, Michael Esper, Diane Venora, Nick Offerman, Kristen Wiig, Stephen Kunken, John Cullum, Maggie Kiley, Liz Stauber, Marion McCorry

Inspired by the life story of Robert Durst, this film tells the story of the wealthy son of a New York real estate mogul and his volatile relationship with his wife.

David Marks (Gosling) is headed to a black tie even when his father, New York real estate mogul Sanford Marks (Langella) tells him to go to one of the tenement buildings he owns to fix the plumbing. David knocks on the door of Kathleen “Katie” McCarthy (Dunst) and after working on her sink, making it worse than when he arrived, he tells her that a real plumber will be there Monday morning. Sensing an attraction between each other, Katie accompanies David to his event, much to the disapproval of his father.

David and Katie get married and move to Vermont where they open a health food store they name “All Good Things”. They are not in Vermont long when Sanford harasses David into coming back to New York. David buys them a beautiful, large upscale apartment in the city and soon Katie starts thinking about having children. David implies to her that he is unable to have children and it puts an end to the thought of children.

They then by a weekend lake house and after meeting one of the neighbors, Katie confides in her that she is pregnant. When she later tells David that she is pregnant, he hurls a chair across the room and tells her that she is going to have an abortion. On the way to the clinic, David is called away to work for his father, forcing Katie to go alone.

Noting a change in her husband, Katie decides to go to nursing school. On the night of her graduation, David and Katie are at a party at her mother's house when he decides he is ready to leave. Katie tells him that she is staying and David goes to the car but when she doesn't join him he storms inside, grabs her up by her hair and drags her to the car.

Katie decides to leave David but when she tries she is cut off from the family trust and she needs the funds to continue with her medical training. After her visit with the trust lawyer, David begins to abuse her and she slowly starts to show the signs of domestic abuse.

I liked this movie. I think that Ryan Gosling does a great job as David Marks, he sells the character in the right way. If you don't know the story that this film is based on, it really does keep you on your toes. From the onset, it doesn't look like it is quite as dark as it eventually turns into.

The acting between Kirsten Dunst and Ryan Gosling is well acted, they make a pretty convincing couple before and after the domestic abuse starts.

All in all, well acted, great story, average film. I think it is worth a watch.

So the first time I saw this film, I had no idea that is was inspired by a true story. It was only after I heard this story on a crime show, but with different names, did I put the two together.

For anyone that doesn't know about Robert Durst (David Marks in the film), he is the son of Seymour Durst (Sanford Marks) who was a real estate tycoon in New York. Robert seems to have had somewhat of a trouble childhood (his claim is that his father made him watch as his mother committed suicide by jumping from the roof of their home) and by all accounts, is still troubled today. He has been accused of the death of his wife Kathie McCormack Durst (Katie McCarthy) although there is no evidence of anything other than her disappearance. He has been accused of other crimes as well but if you don't know his story or haven't seen this film, I don't want to ruin anything for you, so I will stop there.

If you are interested in learning more about Robert Durst, HBO did a 6 part documentary series on him called “The Jinx: the Life and Deaths of Robert Durst”. It really is worth the watch. It was this film and director Andrew Jarecki that led Robert Durst to come and interview him.

Finally, if you are at all the victim of domestic abuse, please seek help. You can go to www.thehotline.org to chat with someone anonymously or you can call 1-800-799-7233. Please know that you are not alone and you don't have to suffer in silence.

Until next time, Don't Forget the Popcorn!