‘All Good Things’ DVD Review

Director: Andrew Jarecki

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, Frank Langella, Phillip Baker Hall

Plot: Based on real events, the film focuses on David Marks, a member of a wealthy New York family who was strongly suspected but never tried of his wife’s murder.

Review: Dealing with a true crime case that is still very fresh in the public’s mind is always going to be a tricky endeavor. Marks, here played by Ryan Gosling, is still alive and although he has never been accused or tried in connection with his wife’s disappearance in 1982 it prevents the film-maker from doing much more than casting suspicion. The story is certainly an engaging one. When Marks meets with Katie (Dunst) their relationship feels genuine and it’s a believable romance as we see them build their lives together. When the film begins to change tact, as Marks’ childhood trauma and his controlling father begins to influence their world, the movie starts to get a bit shaky.

This is Jareki’s first feature film since his documentary Capturing the Friedmans and he seems to still be a bit hamfisted when it comes to working with fiction. Whilst the narrative is pretty well handled on a whole there’s an odd pattern wherein a really good scene will be followed with something more generic and poor. One clear example occurs when Katie arrives terrified and hysterical outside of their neighbours window with the viewer largely in the dark about what has happened, followed by a completely vanilla scene where she is sneaking into his office while we cut back and forth to Marks getting closer to the door.

Gosling, Dunst and Langella all deliver good performances throughout the movie, with Langella in particular seeming to revel in the opportunity to be pure menace. The acting is subtle enough for the characters not to fall into the realm of being hammy, something that could have happened with lesser performers. This subtlety is lost amid some of the mishandled factors, such as the blaring and intrusive soundtrack that sounds as though it’s lifted from any 1990s slasher film. The momentum of the movie stalls noticeable in the final act as it begins to feel as though everything is being rushed towards a, ultimately unsatisfying finale. Given the circumstances it’s important to keep the facts of the case accurate, but when you movie ends with ‘and he got away with it’ (before you call spoiler, it is on the DVD cases blurb) people are going to leave without a sense of closure.

Score: SIX outta TEN