Review of All Good Things (2010) by Bobby P — 17 Feb 2011

Hahaha, if anything, this movie is at least cleverly titled. This Romantic Thriller is inspired on true events, based on a prominent unsolved mystery involving a high profile New York family. The story leads us to believe there could have been a crime perpetrated. It doesn't fully tell us, so it lets us infer as to whether there might be one or not, which I thought it as completely fair.

David Marks, (Ryan Gosling), is a somewhat disturbed character that has lost a sense of control over himself and his surrounding circumstances. While initially a striving rebel that seems willing to sacrifice an affluent lifestyle for the love of a woman, Marks is eventually subdued by the promise of comfort and the strong control exerted by his father, Sanford Marks, deftly played by Frank Langella.

At the heart of this marriage drama lie the slight differences that lead a relationship astray and can take awful turns. The dominant father subplot carries the undertow, subtly surfacing but conferring the bold statement that family trumps any other relationship. :( I feel like taking a few points off for lack of a stronger link between the plot and the sub-plot and for the story's predictability. On the other hand, this movie does not try to mislead you and starts right off with the character's court deposition. This moves the story forward by taking a clear angle that will portray Marks as our prime suspect without fully incriminating him.

PD. This suspenseful thriller brings us a very good performance by Ryan Gosling, who tends to hover towards character driven roles, and as such is one of the true actors of our generation...

Vague Movie Formula: Revolutionary Road (Excellent performance drama) + Zodiac ( 70's Crime Mystery) - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (No Crime Solving) + Nixon (Freakingly powerful Langella)= All Good Things to watch.

Rent it, or as someone else mentioned... worth watching once.