Frank Langella | pinartarhan.com

All Good Things Starring Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst & Frank Langella.

David Marks (Ryan Gosling) is the rebel son of the billionaire real estate investor Sanford Marks (Frank Langella). While David’s brother Daniel (Michael Esper) has embraced the corporate and rich lifestyle, David is just happy getting high and dating the beautiful Katie (Kirsten Dunst) whose warm and middle-class upbringing couldn’t have been more different to David’s. David’s father is cold, ambitious and used to getting his way. So it doesn’t take long for him to convince David that Katie will only be happy if they have a comfortable life.

So David starts working for his dad. And Katie begins to get to know the more dangerous side of David. David, as a kid, has witnessed his own mother’s suicide and has found a way to bury all the fury. But as Katie wants to have kids and later follow her dreams of being a med student, we get to see a side of David that even makes his father seem mild and kind in comparison.

Will Katie be able to save this marriage with an increasingly unstable David? Or better yet, will she able to save herself?

All Good Things, as stated in the beginning of the movie, was inspired by a true missing person’s story that still remains a missing person’s case today. Katie’s disappearance is not a twist to be spoiled, as the trailer and the tagline spell it out for us: the perfect love story until it becomes the perfect crime…

And while All Good Things is not a perfect movie, the crimes committed in the film, as well as Ryan Gosling’s performance are indeed perfect. This is a mystery/drama with some thrilling aspects that get its spookiness from the transformation of David. Of course the sane and the smart viewer will eventually deem Katie for being stupid and naïve for staying that long, and eventually bringing it on herself. After all, David’s actions started becoming alarming the moment he started listening to his dad…

All Good Things’ pace sometimes requires patience. The tension the movie is building threatens to become boring, although it never does. Obviously, this is not a film to watch to have a simple good time. But no matter how depressing it is, it is a story well-told with good actors.

Currently 6.4 on IMDB. Fair enough.

Fun notes:

– Kirsten Dunst played a vampire when she was 12. Her sires/parents were vampires Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise and the movie was Interview with the Vampire.

– Saturday Night Live’s Kristen Wiig has a small role in the film.

The Box with Cameron Diaz and James Marsden. Frank Langella gives creepy and mysterious a whole new meaning. So what would you do to get $1.000.000?

1976. A black box is dropped at the house of Norma and Arthur Lewis (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden), a happily married couple with a kid. They have the house, the car, the careers and things seem quite perfect in their front. Well, there are some problems. NASA employee Arthur fails to get his chance to become an astronaut and the private school Norma is teaching at -and their son goes to school to- cuts off his scholarship. And there is the almost life-long disability that has been bothering Norma, her constant limping due to her 4 cut-off toes. What comes in the form of a suggestion however is something they never could have anticipated.

A mysterious old man – Arlington Steward – with an extremely disfigured half-face appears at the door. Norma invites the man in, both shocked and intrigued. As it turns out, this is the man who dropped the mysterious black box at their door and he has come with a proposition. The box has a red button. If the couple presses it within 24 hours, someone they don’t know will die. And they will receive $1.000.000, if she and her husband don’t tell anyone. He leaves Norma shocked. Arthur doesn’t really take it seriously. But after a while, “what if” questions start to surface. What if that man is serious? What if they will actually be paid $1.000.000? Are they ready to be responsible to be responsible for someone’s death?

Eventually, money and financial troubles win over conscience and the button is pushed.

It turns out Arlington meant everything he said. But will their act have other consequences? Who the hell is Arlington Steward? Why are there so many people around them acting weird? Where does the money come from? Will they ever be safe?

Now, this movie has one of the most interesting premises I have ever run into. I found myself glued to the screen, wondering about Arlington, the money and feeling shocked at the fact that both Norma took the man seriously and easily pushed the button. How could a seemingly good person be that reckless of someone else’s life? The movie is slowly-paced, intending to build the tension and curiosity. While I can’t say I was bored, I couldn’t find the exciting explanation I was waiting for in the end. What happened and why will be shown to you to a certain extent. However a lot will left to your imagination and interpretation.

The screenplay is based on a short-story by Richard Matheson, called Button, Button. The movie is written for the screen and directed by Richard Kelly, writer and director of the cult hit Donnie Darko. While Darko is better-paced, I was more intrigued by The Box.

I am looking forward to read Matheson’s story and see how much/what Kelly left out.

I should say it is always good to watch Marsden and Frank Langella really crept me out.

6.0 on IMDB. I guess I can say 6.5-7 for some parts and 6.0 for other.

Favorite Line

Norma Lewis: What happens now? Will you make the offer to someone else?

Arlington Stweard:Yes, Mrs Lewis. And you can be sure it will be made to someone you don’t know.

Favorite Scene

Last conflict for the Lewises. My favorite part of the whole movie.

All Good Things starring Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst & Frank Langella

The Box starring James Marsden, Cameron Diaz & Frank Langella