The Florida man who inspired the 2010 mystery All Good Things has also been the subject of a documentary. The movie follows David Marks (Kirsten Dunst). While they initially appear to be perfect for one another, cracks in the foundation of their relationship appear and Katie eventually goes missing.

Written by Marcus Hinchey and Marc Smerling, the events of the movie take inspiration from a real-life missing persons case and the husband who became a suspect. The events of the movie chronicle their burgeoning relationship in the 1970s, spanning Katie’s disappearance in the 1980s and the cold case being reopened in 2000. While there are plenty of liberties taken with the story since not all details were known at the time (and still are not), the movie has been seen as a mostly true .

Who Is The Inspiration Behind David Marks?

David Marks Is Inspired By Robert Durst

Robert Durst was born into a family that had built a real estate empire in New York. It was expected that, when he came of age and his father retired, Robert Durst would take over the family business as the eldest son. That, however, did not happen.

Durst grew up with three younger siblings, but had a rivalry with his younger brother Douglas, which is hinted at in the movie, though Douglas’s name is changed to Daniel for the story. In fact, though Durst grew up insisting that he witnessed his mother’s death, Douglas revealed in a New York Times interview that it was not true. It was also revealed that the two siblings had to see a therapist growing up because of how bad their rivalry got (also via New York Times).

Durst distanced himself from the family, much as David Marks attempts to do in the film, largely because he did not want anything to do with the family business. As the movie demonstrates, however, his father frequently convinced him to come back to work. Like Marks, Durst opened a health food store in the early 1970s in Vermont, but also like Marks, he shut the store down in 1973 when his father convinced him to move back to New York. That’s also the year he married Kathleen McCormack, named Katie McCarthy in the film (via Wall Street Journal).

When Kathleen disappeared a decade later in 1982, she was a medical student just a few months shy of earning her degree to become a pediatrician (via New York Times). Though Durst reported her missing, it would take decades for police to investigate her case. In the meantime, Durst, like Marks, would end up in several other legal entanglements, as shown in the film.

He was investigated for the death of Susan Berman, named Deborah Lehrman in the movie, the same friend who had given him an alibi for his wife’s disappearance. When he went into hiding in Texas, disguising himself as a woman, he was also investigated for the murder of Morris Black (via Vanity Fair).

What Durst Has Said About The Film

Durst Has Been Complimentary Of All Good Things

...he spoke relatively highly of the film.

Despite the movie essentially showing Robert Durst (with a name change) as a murderer, he spoke relatively highly of the film. He even appeared alongside director Andrew Jarecki to provide commentary for the movie’s DVD release. He repeatedly called events depicted in the movie “close” or “more-or-less accurate,” which might have surprised those listening to the audio commentary.

About a scene in which “Kathie” goes to their neighbor’s home and bangs on the window to get their attention when she and “David” have been having a physical altercation, Durst commented:

This is more-or-less accurate. I don’t know why she would go in our neighbor’s window as opposed to go to their door. And it was pouring, and we were have a wrestling-shoving-type fight, and she ran out on the terrace and ran to their apartment. Said she was afraid to go home. So she didn’t want to go home. She doesn’t have to go home. ... I didn’t really care one way or another what she did. It was late and I was just tired.

One thing he didn’t comment on while participating though, was the fictionalized events that show the murder of Susan Berman or Susan Berman pretending to be his wife so that there is one more appearance from her after she disappeared. He chose what to confirm while participating in the commentary track very carefully.

How David Marks Compares To Robert Durst In The Jinx

Ryan Gosling’s Portrayal Of Robert Durst Is Largely Accurate

Gosling portrays David Marks as quietly composed with rage bubbling just under the surface.

Robert Durst got his own turn in front of the camera when Jarecki decided to do a documentary about Durst’s experiences. The decision was made after the two got to one another following the release of All Good Things. Though Durst had frequently declined talking to journalists, he was willing to speak with Jarecki after seeing All Good Things, and that initial conversation even made it into Jarecki’s documentary. The documentary became the true crime docies The Jinx.

Those who have seen both projects have noted that Gosling captures Durst’s mannerisms and emotions very well. He remains aloof through many scenes, and he even mumbles to himself, just as Durst does in The Jinx when he doesn’t realize he is still wearing an active microphone.

Gosling portrays David Marks as quietly composed with rage bubbling just under the surface. Durst was always carefully composed in his interviews, but also, quick to it to the rage and physical altercations he would get into with his wife, like on the All Good Things commentary, so it’s easy to see Durst in Gosling’s Marks.

What Happened To Robert Durst

Robert Durst Was Not Convicted Of All Three Crimes

In 2003, Robert Durst was put on trial for the murder of Morris Black, a man he knew while living in Galveston, Texas. Black was killed and his body was dismembered. His head was never found. Durst’s lawyer argued that Durst was responsible for Black’s death, but that it was in self-defense, and he was acquitted.

When All Good Things premiered in 2010, Durst was living in Florida. (Maps of Florida and Louisiana had been among his possessions when he was arrested for Black’s murder.) It was not until 2021, when Durst was 72, that he was put on trial for the murder of Susan Berman and convicted for her murder. He was sentenced to life in prison. Durst was also charged with the disappearance of his wife after 40 years, but he died in prison in 2022, so the charges were dropped.