Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. In 1982 Kathleen Durst disappeared, never to be seen again. Her husband Robert was the primary suspect and there were plenty of theories as to how and why he did it. But he was never charged and the case is considered one of the more fascinating tales of the unsolved mysteries of New York City. Why? Because the Dursts are billionaires and Robert is heir to that fortune, built off ownership of a large portion of Times Square that has been held in the family for generations. Throw in Robert’s stint in life as a mute woman, and his eventual slaying of Morris Black in self defense, and you have a life worth examining on some level. Thus comes All Good Things, a thinly fictionalized of these events.
David Marks (Ryan Gosling) is the prodigal son of billionaire real estate mogul Sanford Marks (Frank Langella) who doesn’t quite fit into the family. They are big time political players, born for the life of privilege and benefit, and he’s an awkward introvert who stands out like a sore thumb. His wife Katie (Kirsten Dunst) is a nursing student who someday hopes to go to medical school, coming from working class origins and meeting David by chance. With their marriage crumbling due to David’s personality, she mysteriously vanishes. Twenty years later the facts of that case come about during David’s trial for the murder of his good friend Malvern (Philip Baker Hall).
Told in flashback as older David tells the tale of his younger life, we see this tale of marital distress and foul play as it unfolds from the beginning until its tragic end. And it’s in this style we see the film fall apart as it has a choppy, uneven narrative that obscures some great performances from its cast. And it’s easy to see why: it adds to the drama.
Andrew Jarecki has chosen to use this approach, with a courtroom trial adding to the inherent drama of an unsolved disappearance, because it allows us to go through events non-linearly and put the pieces together ourselves. Cramming as many facts about the case into the film as possible, it feels more like a police procedural than it does a drama with a tragic end because Jarecki has a stiff manner in how he presents the film. With a finale as to how events probably happened as best as one can speculate, given the facts of the situation, we’re given an incomplete story with an incomplete narrative because of one thing: we don’t know what really happened.
Jarecki does his best to try and fill the blanks in but at best this is an incomplete story because no corpse was ever found and no one was ever convicted of the crime. Robert Durst has essentially gotten away with murdering at least two people for his own purposes, and having someone else carry out the murder of another, but his infamy is overshadowed by the massive family fortune at his disposal. Durst’s inability to ever be accepted by mainstream society is not a big deal when you can write a check for nearly anything, it seems. It overshadows what are some great performances by the three main actors.
Gosling has long been an actor’s actor, the king of good independent films, and he turns in another of a string of great performances as David. David is an eclectic child, scarred from seeing his mother’s suicide as a young child, but Gosling plays the part a bit subdued. There isn’t any melodrama or scene chewing, nor is he playing it as he’s channeling Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. This is a quiet, introverted kid who became a quiet, introverted adult in a family that discourages that sort of behavior.
We don’t get inside his mind because no one can; Katie remarks near the end that she’s never been closer to anyone in her life and yet she doesn’t know him at all. It’s a powerful statement that gives us the key ingredient to Gosling’s performance. Only he knows why he did the things he’s done and no one else can figure that out. Kristen Dunst, tasked with playing off a character like this, gives an admirable performance that’ll make one forget that she was Mary Jane Watson and the star of plenty of lighter fare. If she wanted a part out of the mainstream this is it and she holds her own on the screen with Gosling quite admirably. There are some dramatic acting chops in her, after all.
The film’s real powerhouse performance comes from Langella, long known for bringing a dramatic heft wherever he goes. He has a presence and gravity that lines of dialogue can’t provide and Jarecki is smart by not giving him massive amounts of them. We understand how David turned out how he did by the way Langella acts towards him. This is a father perpetually disappointed by his son who long ago stopped trying to hide it.
All Good Things remains an incomplete film, however, despite all this.
Presented in a widescreen format with a Dolby Digital surround, this is a top notch a/v presentation. Being a period piece there are lots of varied colors and sounds that come through wonderfully.
All Good Things: Truth in Fiction is a piece about the film’s non-fiction origins as the director and producers discuss the real life events behind it and how much research was involved in getting the story correct. They came up with three main theories, apparently, and the film’s story comes from one of them. There’s an attention to detail and the truth that comes out as one can tell that they didn’t merely want to make a film that wanted to probe this story. They wanted to make this as accurate and truthful as possible.
Two Commentary tracks are included.
Back in Time: Researching the Original Story is a look at the murder mystery surrounding the events of the film. Getting friends and family members, as well as members of law enforcement and district attorney’s office, it’s an intriguing look at the events behind the film. You get the personal touch behind it as everyone discusses what they thought happened, et al.
Wrinkles in Time: Ryan Ages is a quick piece showing the extensive makeup used to age Ryan Gosling throughout the film.
Unraveling the Story: Interview with Andrew Jarecki is a quick interview with the director on why he chose to make this film.
All Good Things feels incomplete because there’s no real resolution to the events portrayed.
Magnolia presents All Good Things. Directed by Andrew Jarecki. Starring Ryan Gosling, Kristen Wiig, Kirsten Dunst, Frank Langella. Written by Marcus Hinchey and Marc Smerling. Running time: 101 minutes. Rated R. Released on DVD: 3.29.2011.
