JAM Reviews All Good Things from Magnolia Home Entertainment

All Good Things: Blu-Ray: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Review by JAM

A mysterious drama inspired by true-life events, All Good Things from Magnolia Home Entertainment chronicles the story of David Marks (Ryan Gosling), a lost soul from a New York real estate family who marries a young woman named Katie McCarthy (Kirsten Dunst) who seems so different from the life he came from. Unfortunately, that life of seedy intrigue, hidden money, and family morbidity draws him back in and may have eventually contributed to the disappearance of his wife.

This film by Andrew Jarecki is based on the life of Robert Durst, an heir to a New York real estate empire who was suspected in the disappearance of his wife in 1982, but never tried. All Good Things also stars Frank Langella as the patriarch of this fractured family.

JAMS Ink on All Good Things

You almost want to feel for David when you first meet him. It feels like he is just an enigmatic man caught in a family that thrives on drama and moral ambiguity when we first see him, but needless to say he changes your perception as the film goes along. Though his upbringing did him no favors, including a father so emotionally detached and manipulative that he comes off as a mob boss type as the movie goes on, David and neediness for acceptance translates into an overdone need for following every order his father makes and destroying even his one chance to get away with a family of his own. This closeness to the moral ambiguity of his family turns him even more indecisive and slowly starts his descent into madness and psychosis. From domineering his wife to the dismemberment of a dog to the manipulation of a murder to the delusional cross-dressing of a man who knows not why he does what he does, David turns into a real piece of work. Ryan Gosling does an excellent job of working with a character that treads in such a number of worlds.

Kirsten Dunst plays a character caught up in a mystery she cannot solve and a member of a family with which she will never fit in. As you watch her, you truly get the feeling she did not know until it was too late and then tried to make the best out of a bad situation she was in. No of that helped any of course, but you had the feeling that she had really loved her husband even though she discovered that she really had never known him.

EXTRAS

A good amount of extras overall to choose from including multiple commentaries, deleted scenes, and behind the scenes looks at the movie and the background story itself.

All Good Things Blu-ray Disc Features:

• Audio Commentary – two audio commentaries to choose from depending on where your interests lie. First is the commentary with Director Jarecki and Robert Durst (he who the film is based upon). It is interesting in some ways, but being creeped out by the story itself made this lose a bit of its appeal to me. The second is Jarecki, and co-writers/producers Marcus Hinchey and Marc Smerling. Kind of your basic fare when it comes to commentary but good overall.

• Deleted Scenes – four scenes which really do not lend much to the story and were understandably cut.

• “All Good Things”: Truth in Fiction – a good behind the scenes look dealing with the film transitioning from the Durst case to the film itself. Insightful overall.

• Back in Time: Researching the Original Story – an actual look at the Durst case through people involved with the actual story including attorneys, friends, and family.

• Wrinkles in Time: Ryan Ages - neat look at the make-up process for Ryan’s transition to the older version of his character.

• “Beneath the Surface of All Good Things: Interview with Andrew Jarecki – about an hour long talk with the director about the entire production process.

All Good Things must come to an end, but you can grab a copy March 29, 2011 and take a look at one of the most infamous mysteries in New York history provided by Magnolia Home Entertainment.

Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at http://jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.