All Good Things (2010)

Let's be realistic.

A different way of telling a story

The acting in this movie is really good.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

All Good Things (2010) is a love-crime drama released into limited theaters in 2010, which is based on true events. Starring are, Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst who are excellent as David and Katie. The film is thoroughly engrossing but somewhat frustrating towards the end, only because viewers are denied knowledge of the truth as much as the key figures involved in the real-life case have been. All Good Things was overlooked when it was released because of Blue Valentine, the other film starring Ryan Gosling playing a similar character in a similar tone of film, which received much praise. Although, this film is quite good but could have been developed slightly better. The acting here is great and convincing, both leads play their part well. The story is quite interesting, though the climax doesn't fully feel as authentic and captivating as it could have been.

Although this movie starts off quite slow, it really builds suspense and intrigue all throughout. What I like about this film is that it sources on realism. The relationship between the two protagonists is in no way glamorized, as most Hollywood films do, but instead it shows something more raw. At first it seems that there is no real depth to Katherine's and David's relationship but as you keep watching you realize that the depiction of their marriage - lacking any deep and meaningful personal connection - mirrors David's character. Out of the two protagonists, David's character is the hardest to understand. What this film does well is keep his backstory to the minimum, but towards the end the little details that were revealed about his childhood, such as the death of his mother, all come into place. Another aspect of this film that adds to the overall effect is the use of flashbacks, from the courtroom where David is being questioned, to the actual events beginning in 1973 and on wards. Overall, this is simply a wonderful movie. It captured all the necessary aspects to recreate the true events that occurred surrounding David Marks and his trial. Without a doubt, watch this movie now. Especially if you're a lover of murder mysteries like myself.

Ryan Gosling has a penchant to mine a certain time of troubled character which he has been doing for the last few years as oppose to other contemporaries who want to play the latest Marvel superhero or be in a Rom-com with Jennifer Aniston, not that Gosling will say no to the odd commercial film.This film is a fictional account based on true events. Gosling plays a young idealist from a rich New York property owning family who marries a girl outside his status and at first opens a natural food shop but with pressure from his father joins the family business and collects rent from the then seedy part of 1970s New York consisting of low rent hotels, seedy joints and brothels.Kirsten Dunst is the wife at first happy together, but as Gosling slowly unravels becomes a wreck in fear of violence and without any financial support.Frank Langella plays the cold, distant but loaded father whose financial achievements might be off dubious means and affected by the death of his wife which has also haunted Gosling.The film moves over a period of 30 years and although the film starts promising enough, cannot sustain itself despite the excellent acting performances from the three main leads. Once Dunst disappears the film takes a bizarre twist as an older Gosling find himself with Philip Baker Hall.It might be the unsatisfying conclusion which reflects the real life events. It is a slow burner which I found a bit dull in places but it is an independent film worth persevering with as some might be rewarded by it.

Based on a real-life case involving a New York real estate family, ALL GOOD THINGS centers on the life of David Marks (Ryan Gosling), who has been permanently psychologically scarred by the sight of the death of his mother at seven years old. He meets and marries beautiful blonde Katie McCarthy (Kirsten Dunst), and the two of them settle down to a life running a health food store in Vermont. Soon Digby is recalled by his dominant father (Frank Langella) into the family 'business,' which involves a multitude of shady deals. David returns to New York, and his true nature emerges. Told over a period of thirty years, ALL GOOD THINGS boasts a strong central performance from Gosling as David, with good support from the other two principals. Yet its narrative is sluggish, to say the least; there are too many dissolves from one sequence to another, accompanied by the kind of idyllic music and photography that looks and sounds good but holds up the development of the plot. The décor is stunning; but the story has a rather insubstantial feel about it.