Did you ever watch a movie and think, "Wow, that's crazy! But it could never happen in real life"? Well, buckle up, because All Good Things, the chilling film starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst, is loosely based on a real, and equally bizarre, story.
The Durst Dynasty: More Than Just Fancy Hotels
The movie pulls inspiration from the life of Robert Durst, a name that might ring a bell if you're a true crime aficionado. He comes from a family that owns a very successful real estate empire.
Think fancy hotels and skyscrapers, not your average mom-and-pop landlord. It wasn't always "all good things" for the Durst family, though, despite their wealth.
The Disappearance: A Real Life Mystery
The film centers on the disappearance of Katie Marks, played by Kirsten Dunst. In real life, this corresponds to Kathleen McCormack, Durst's first wife, who vanished in 1982. It's a mystery that remained unsolved for decades.
No body was ever found. The whole thing is incredibly tragic and shrouded in suspicion.
Gosling's character, David Marks, (based on Robert Durst) displays some truly unsettling behaviors in the movie. It makes you wonder how much of that was creative license and how much was pulled from documented accounts.
Reality Bites (and Buries Evidence?)
Now, here's where the story gets even weirder than fiction. After Kathleen's disappearance, Robert Durst found himself a suspect in a separate case decades later.
This involved the death of his longtime friend, Susan Berman. She was reportedly about to talk to police about Kathleen's disappearance.
Then, adding another layer to the already bizarre onion, Durst later admitted to dismembering his neighbor in Texas, claiming self-defense. Seriously, you can't make this stuff up!
"Jinx": The Documentary That Helped Crack the Case
Perhaps the most fascinating twist is the HBO documentary, The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. During filming, Durst, seemingly unaware his microphone was still on, muttered, "Killed them all, of course."
Whoops!
This "hot mic" moment became a key piece of evidence against him. He was eventually convicted of Susan Berman's murder.
It's a chilling example of how true crime can be stranger, and sometimes more absurd, than anything Hollywood can dream up.
From Silver Screen to Courtroom Drama
All Good Things took some creative liberties, of course. It's not a documentary, but a fictionalized take on a real event.
The movie serves as a dark and dramatic interpretation. It highlights the unanswered questions and the unsettling nature of the case.
It also provides a glimpse into the mind of a man suspected of heinous crimes. That makes us wonder if the person portrayed in the film is really that different from the real Robert Durst.
So, next time you watch All Good Things, remember it's more than just a thriller. It's a story loosely based on a real-life saga of wealth, suspicion, and a whole lot of unanswered questions surrounding Robert Durst. It's a chilling reminder that sometimes, truth really is stranger than fiction.
