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All Good Things
(directed by Andrew Jarecki, 2010)
All Good Things is a queer little movie that is based on the real life events of Robert Durst and Kathleen McCormack, although in this movie their names have been changed to David Marks (Ryan Gosling) and Katie McCarthy (Kirsten Dunst). David is the rich son of a New York real estate mogul who falls in love with poor little Katie. Soon, they've opened up a health food store in Vermant called "All Good Things", much to David's father's chagrin. However, his father, Sanford (Frank Langella) soon convinces his son to pick up his litte family and go back to New York and work for him.
David starts getting mean and strange. He talks to himself. Katie starts living by herself in their second home and becomes more independent by attending medical school. We learn that David's mother died when he was a child -- by suicide -- and that he saw the whole thing. Eventually, things progress even worse and Katie disappears from the world. She - that is, Kathleen McCormack - has not been seen to this day since 1982. After quite a long time of developing David and Katie and their troubled marriage, the movie abruptly skips ahead to 2000 where we find David Marks living in Texas as a mute woman.
Okay... soooooo... I knew the bizarre twist going into this movie. It takes quite awhile for it to happen. Once it does, though, I'm afraid this movie turned into something else. I felt that pacing was off with this movie and Kirsten Dunst's removal from the film to bring us Ryan Gosling in drag hanging out with an old man neighbor that sort of becomes like a surrogate lover to him was a little... well... inconvenient. Suddenly, this romantic little movie became Psycho V: Tootsie's Room.
It has a Zodiac-like feel to it, or something. There's not really any closure here. I'm kind of at a loss about what really might have happened. There are a couple of murders that happen, a disappearance, a strange crossdressing man that gets away with everything, if indeed he is guilty of anything -- Robert Durst even does a commentary track for this movie!! I have not listened to it, yet. Should be fascinating.
Ryan Gosling was hot. Weird, but hot. Apparently, the man he's playing, Robert Durst, was later diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, which is a form of autism. So, that explains his odd behavior. There's also the issue of him seeing his mom commit suicide and all of the other things that have occured in his life.
I'm not in total love with this movie. While it was very engaging and never boring, I do have a sense of... what the hell did I just watch? Seriously... Ryan Gosling's character wound up fleeing from his life to hide as a mute woman? Kirsten Dunst fans should be pissed to suddenly lose her character to this bizarre change of events. But, I guess that's life. That's how it really happened.
We do get some scenes with Ryan walking around all wet in his underwear and Kirsten fans will be glad to know she goes topless in a shower. But the really memorable moment is Ryan Gosling walking around a store with a short old man, doing some shopping. Life Lesson: You never know how your life might turn out.
(directed by Andrew Jarecki, 2010)
All Good Things is a queer little movie that is based on the real life events of Robert Durst and Kathleen McCormack, although in this movie their names have been changed to David Marks (Ryan Gosling) and Katie McCarthy (Kirsten Dunst). David is the rich son of a New York real estate mogul who falls in love with poor little Katie. Soon, they've opened up a health food store in Vermant called "All Good Things", much to David's father's chagrin. However, his father, Sanford (Frank Langella) soon convinces his son to pick up his litte family and go back to New York and work for him.
David starts getting mean and strange. He talks to himself. Katie starts living by herself in their second home and becomes more independent by attending medical school. We learn that David's mother died when he was a child -- by suicide -- and that he saw the whole thing. Eventually, things progress even worse and Katie disappears from the world. She - that is, Kathleen McCormack - has not been seen to this day since 1982. After quite a long time of developing David and Katie and their troubled marriage, the movie abruptly skips ahead to 2000 where we find David Marks living in Texas as a mute woman.
Okay... soooooo... I knew the bizarre twist going into this movie. It takes quite awhile for it to happen. Once it does, though, I'm afraid this movie turned into something else. I felt that pacing was off with this movie and Kirsten Dunst's removal from the film to bring us Ryan Gosling in drag hanging out with an old man neighbor that sort of becomes like a surrogate lover to him was a little... well... inconvenient. Suddenly, this romantic little movie became Psycho V: Tootsie's Room.
It has a Zodiac-like feel to it, or something. There's not really any closure here. I'm kind of at a loss about what really might have happened. There are a couple of murders that happen, a disappearance, a strange crossdressing man that gets away with everything, if indeed he is guilty of anything -- Robert Durst even does a commentary track for this movie!! I have not listened to it, yet. Should be fascinating.
Ryan Gosling was hot. Weird, but hot. Apparently, the man he's playing, Robert Durst, was later diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, which is a form of autism. So, that explains his odd behavior. There's also the issue of him seeing his mom commit suicide and all of the other things that have occured in his life.
I'm not in total love with this movie. While it was very engaging and never boring, I do have a sense of... what the hell did I just watch? Seriously... Ryan Gosling's character wound up fleeing from his life to hide as a mute woman? Kirsten Dunst fans should be pissed to suddenly lose her character to this bizarre change of events. But, I guess that's life. That's how it really happened.
We do get some scenes with Ryan walking around all wet in his underwear and Kirsten fans will be glad to know she goes topless in a shower. But the really memorable moment is Ryan Gosling walking around a store with a short old man, doing some shopping. Life Lesson: You never know how your life might turn out.