Ryan Gosling talks about the ‘The Jinx,’ because he basically played The Jinx
If you’re like the rest of us, you might be familiar with The Jinx through one of two ways – a) watching every second of the addicting six-part true crime documentary on HBO, or b) listening to practically everyone you know talking about how you SHOULD be watching it. What you may not know is that Ryan Gosling once actually portrayed a fictional version of doc’s subject, Robert Durst.
In the 2010 movie All Good Things, Gosling played a man named David Marks —a thinly-veiled version of Durst. In reality, Robert Durst was a product of a wealthy real estate family who has been linked to multiple cold cases occurring over the past several decades – including the 1982 disappearance of his first wife as well as two deaths in the early 2000s. The fictional film version, which also starred Kirsten Dunst as the ill-fated love interest, bears a striking resemblance to the case which forms the basis for the six-part documentary.
So, does that mean that Ryan Gosling is watching The Jinx like the rest of us? Turns out he’s waiting until the end so he can binge watch it in its entirety. According to an interview with the LA Times, “he’s been watching the comedy series “Broad City” episode-to-episode this season but says he still prefers binge-watching.”
The conversation also turned to the subject of Durst’s innocence, and whether or not Gosling has an opinion either way:
“Oh, boy. How can you know? You can’t. He’s a very complicated guy,” he told the Times. He either did or he didn’t. And even if all of it or none of it or some of it might be true, there’s just no way to really know. Maybe there’s more being revealed in this documentary than we knew at the time that we made the film.”
According to Gosling, he and Durst never actually met in person, but he said that Durst seemed surprisingly OK with a film being made about his life.
“At that time I don’t think anyone knew he would be as agreeable to this as he is,” Gosling said. “I think seeing the film, seeing the perspective on him, that it wasn’t trying to judge him, it was trying to understand him. Maybe that helped sort of pave the way.
“It’s a fascinating story,” he added. “We wanted to try to tell that story but obviously not pretend to know the heart of the man or the mind of the man. I think a little distance there gave us some room to work.”
While the question of Durst’s innocence is still really just that — a question — it seems like Ryan Gosling is as in the dark as the rest of us in spite of being the one who tried to bring this fictional man to life.
“We wanted to try to tell that story but obviously not pretend to know the heart of the man or the mind of the man,” he added. “I think a little distance there gave us some room to work.”
And the work paid off. Director Andrew Jarecki’s All Good Things is an eerie, evocative film that works on so many different levels without providing pat answers or one-dimensional character assessments.The Jinx, also directed by Jarecki, is really a product of that work. Durst, a fan of the film, approached the director about an interview, which became the basis of the doc series. We’ll join in the chorus and say if you haven’t watched The Jinx yet (Ryan, that means you), you should definitely get on it.
[Featured image via.]
