As a person always fascinated by serial killers,
Zodiac was exactly the kind of movie that makes my
mouth water. Not only did I love the true crime aspect of
the film, but it was exquisitely executed both before and
behind the lens. This is the movie I needed so desperately
after a series of gruesome crime drama letdowns, most recently
The Black Dahlia and Hollywoodland.
The film follows the decades-long quest for
three men to solve the notorious Zodiac Murders in the San
Francisco area. Beginning in 1969, a the series of gruesome
murders were the subject of unprecedented media attention
when the killer began communicating at length with the San
Francisco Chronicle in coded messages and threats of more
violence. Inspector David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo), with his
partner (Anthony Edwards), heads up the police investigation
and attempts to navigate the multiple jurisdictional conflicts
and the mixed media messages to piece together the mystery.
Meanwhile, at the Chronicle, writer Paul Avery (Robert Downey
Jr.) faces death-threats for his continued coverage of the
story, and cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) becomes
increasingly obsessed with the case, to the detriment of his
career and personal life. (It is Graysmith’s novel on
which the film is based.)
The strongest element of the film are the near-perfect
performances by the entire cast. Downey shines throughout,
but Gyllenhaal and Ruffalo take a bit of time before their
characters are developed enough to show their true range.
Despite the slow increase in their respective obsessions,
both do a phenomenal job of depicting realistically the mental
and emotional states of these driven men. In supporting roles,
Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox and Chloë Sevigny are all
on par with the stars, and balance the cast quite nicely.
Many have criticized the film for being too
long, and at close to three hours, it is arguably the longest
true-crime murder mystery in recent years. I never felt the
weight of the film’s runtime while viewing it, and was
captivated from start to finish. The movie does drag a little
bit in the middle of the film, but this is mostly due to the
lag in the obsessions of the main characters, and not the
pacing of the film itself. The length of the film is necessary
given the incredibly intricate story and the span of the investigation.
I felt the movie was very effective at sticking to the case,
and never really straying from the focus of the plot. This
is accomplished by skipping from Zodiac-related event to Zodiac-related
event and leaving out the months and sometimes years in between.
While this makes it somewhat difficult to develop the characters
early on (especially Toschi and Graysmith) but the extreme
focus of the script keeps the audience close to the subject
and allows them to share in the one common trait of the three
men—their obsession.
I have always been intrigued by serial killers
and true crime and this part of me was not disappointed by
Zodiac. Whether it’s Jack the Ripper’s
Victorian London or Son of Sam’s 1977 New York, the
greatest serial killers have always created a public panic
and overwhelming sense of fear in their stalking grounds.
Zodiac was perhaps the most adept at this, and David Fincher
does an excellent job of capturing that miasma of terror and
translating it onto the screen.
While Zodiac lacks the visual style and “edginess”
David Fincher is best known for from films such as Se7en
and Fight Club, containing such would have overwhelmed
an intricate and subtle masterpiece. Clearly Fincher has grown
into a more mature style, and knows how to effectively utilize
a wider palette of visual techniques to evoke the necessary
emotions. His forthcoming The Curious Case of Benjamin
Button promises an even more restrained and universal
style and I, for one, can’t wait.
In a time when bogus comedies and overproduced
and stylized action epics seem to be the norm in theaters,
Zodiac is an intelligent and refreshing addition
to the market. To date, it is the best film of 2007, and stands
to hold this position for quite some time. Well worth both
the time to watch and the cost of admission, which is something
I rarely say these days, as admission prices continue to rise.
