If you’ve ever sat through the 101 minutes of the 2010 film All Good Things, you probably left feeling a little greasy. It's that specific kind of cinematic grime that clings to you. Ryan Gosling, playing a fictionalized version of a very real person named David Marks from All Good Things, delivers a performance that is basically a masterclass in being "quietly terrifying."
But here’s the thing. Most people watch the movie and think it’s just another "inspired by true events" thriller. It’s not. It is a weirdly accurate blueprint for one of the most bizarre true crime stories in American history.
Who exactly is David Marks?
On the surface, David Marks is the golden boy of a New York real estate empire. His father, Sanford Marks (played with chilling authority by Frank Langella), owns half of 42nd Street back when 42nd Street was mostly porn theaters and grit. David is supposed to be the heir. He’s supposed to care about rent rolls and power lunches.
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Instead, David meets Katie McCarthy. She’s a tenant. She’s normal. She’s played by Kirsten Dunst, who honestly steals the entire movie by being the only person with a soul. David and Katie decide to ditch the concrete jungle and move to Vermont to open a health food store.
The name of that store? All Good Things.
It sounds idyllic. It sounds like a hippie dream. But in the context of the movie—and the real life of Robert Durst—it was just the beginning of a long, slow descent into madness.
The Real Person Behind the Character
You can’t talk about David Marks from All Good Things without talking about Robert Durst.
The film isn't just "inspired" by Durst; it was so accurate that Robert Durst himself saw the movie and liked it. Let that sink in for a second. A man who was suspected of multiple murders watched a movie that basically accused him of those murders, and his reaction was to call the director, Andrew Jarecki, and say, "I liked the movie. I cried."
That phone call is what eventually led to the HBO documentary The Jinx.
In the film, David Marks is haunted by a childhood trauma: watching his mother jump from the roof of their family home. This actually happened to Robert Durst. His father, Seymour, allegedly took seven-year-old Robert to the window to wave to his mother right before she jumped.
Talk about a recipe for a fractured psyche.
Why the Movie Still Matters
Honestly, David Marks from All Good Things is a character that breaks the mold of the "movie villain." He’s not a mustache-twirling bad guy. He’s pathetic. He’s needy. He’s wealthy beyond belief but has zero agency in his own life.
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The film captures the 1970s and 80s vibe perfectly. You see David and Katie in their Vermont store, surrounded by organic grains and hope. Then you see the transition. The hair gets shorter. The suits get more expensive. The hard-blinking habit Gosling gives the character starts to feel like a ticking time bomb.
There's a scene where David drags Katie out of a family party by her hair. It’s brutal. It’s short. It feels real because it was based on testimony from the real case.
The Disappearance of Katie Marks
The heart of the movie—and the tragedy—is Katie.
She wants to be a doctor. She wants her own life. But David is like a black hole; he absorbs everything around him. When she disappears in 1982, the movie doesn't give you a clear "this is how he did it" scene. Instead, it shows you the aftermath. The lack of evidence. The power of a wealthy family to make problems go away.
For years, people speculated about what happened to the real Kathleen McCormack. The movie suggests David disposed of her body, but it leaves enough ambiguity to make you feel as frustrated as the investigators were.
The Weird Texas Chapter
The final act of the movie is where things get truly "wait, did that actually happen?" weird.
David Marks moves to Galveston, Texas. He dresses as a woman. He calls himself Dorothy Ciner. He befriends a neighbor named Malvern Bump.
You’d think a screenwriter made this up to add flavor. Nope. Robert Durst actually did this. He lived in a $300-a-month apartment while his family was worth hundreds of millions. He wore a wig and a dress to hide from a New York District Attorney. And he did end up on trial for the murder and dismemberment of his neighbor.
The movie handles this with a sort of surreal detachment. Watching Ryan Gosling in a floral dress and a grey wig is jarring, but it highlights the total disintegration of David’s identity.
The Core Misconception About David Marks
Most viewers think David Marks from All Good Things is a story about a man who just "snapped."
He didn't snap.
If you look closely at the narrative, it’s a story about a slow erosion. It’s about a man who was never given the tools to be a human being. He was treated like a piece of real estate by his father and like a monster by the world. By the time he meets Katie, he’s already "gone" in many ways.
The movie isn't a whodunnit. We know who did it. It’s a "why-dunnit," and the answer it gives is pretty bleak: because he could, and because no one stopped him.
Key Takeaways for True Crime Fans
If you're looking into the history of David Marks from All Good Things, keep these points in mind:
- The Health Food Store was real. Robert and Kathie Durst opened "All Good Things" in Vermont in the early 70s.
- The Mother's Suicide is the Anchor. Both the film and the real story suggest this event broke him permanently.
- The Handwriting Clue. The movie touches on the "Deborah Lehrman" character (based on Susan Berman). In real life, it was a cadaver note with a specific misspelling—"Beverley Hills"—that eventually trapped Durst.
- The DVD Commentary. This is the craziest part. The real Robert Durst recorded a commentary track for the DVD of All Good Things. It is one of the only times a suspected serial killer has provided a play-by-play for a movie about his own crimes.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Rewatch
Don't just watch All Good Things as a drama. Watch it as a psychological profile.
Notice the way David mimics people. Watch how he reacts when he loses control of Katie. If you want to dive deeper, watch the movie and then immediately binge The Jinx on HBO. Seeing the real Robert Durst speak with the same cadence and "blink" that Gosling used is genuinely chilling.
It turns the movie from a piece of fiction into a historical document.
Next time you see David Marks from All Good Things on your streaming feed, remember that the most unbelievable parts—the cross-dressing, the health food store, the overbearing father—are the parts that are the most true.
To fully understand the scope of the case, you should look into the 2021 conviction of Robert Durst for the murder of Susan Berman. It provides the "ending" that the movie couldn't, because, at the time of filming, Durst was still a free man. History eventually caught up with the man who inspired the myth.
The best way to appreciate the film is to view it as the catalyst for the truth. Without this movie, we might never have gotten the confession that closed the case for good.
- Compare the film's ending with the real-world events of 2015 and 2021.
- Look for the specific "blinking" tic Ryan Gosling uses; it’s a direct reference to Durst’s real-life mannerisms.
- Research the life of Kathleen McCormack to see the person behind the "Katie" character, who was far more than just a victim in a mystery.