Netflix True Story Crime Mystery Thriller Led To Serial Killer Capture

When it was released in 2010, it seemed unlikely that All Good Things would lead to a major cultural moment and the conviction of a serial killer. Starring Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, Frank Langella, and Phillip Baker Hall, the film, directed by Andrew Jercki, was a major flop. It earned only $1.8 million on a budget of $60 million and was panned by critics, earning 35 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. 

All Good Things was inspired by the story of Robert Durst, who was investigated for two murders and the disappearance of his wife. The characters in the movie had their names changed from their real-life counterparts, but many of the details were lifted directly from the Durst case. The film implies the guilt of its stand-in for Durst but doesn’t directly condemn him, leaving much of the mystery unresolved and up to the audience to interpret. 

Strangely, Robert Durst was a fan of All Good Things and reached out to Andrew Jarecki offering to be interviewed by the filmmaker to tell his side of the story. With the case being of such a high profile and Durst being notoriously resistant to interviews it was a huge opportunity. Jarecki accepted the offer and over several years began interviewing Durst for The Jinx. 

The Jinx came out five years after All Good Things with shocking revelations that led to the arrest of Robert Durst. The documentary series unearthed new physical evidence linking Durst’s handwriting and misspelling of Beverly Hills on an envelope to another envelope anonymously sent to police during an earlier investigation. Even more shockingly, when Durst was in the bathroom and didn’t realize his recording equipment was still on, he muttered what many saw as a confession to the murders. 

The audio recording and handwriting evidence were used as justification to arrest Robert Durst for the murder of Susan Berman. The new evidence and its role in the arrest of Durst led to The Jinx being a major hit, the complete opposite of All Good Things. In the trial that followed, Durst was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. 

While the audio recording in The Jinx was revealed to be edited to make Robert Durst’s comments sound more like a confession, the envelope and new evidence discovered after his arrest helped in the conviction of Durst. If not for the documentary series, which only existed because of Durst’s fandom of All Good Things, he may have never been arrested.

If you want to watch the movie that eventually led to Robert Durst’s conviction, you can watch All Good Things on Netflix.