David Fincher’s “Zodiac” is no “Se7en,” but it’s still pretty damn good.
Based on true case files of what is, perhaps, the most fascinating unsolved murder mysteries in the U.S., “Zodiac” teams the American director with a top-notch cast to set the mood for yet another Fincher thriller—nerve-racking, tense, disturbing and cruel.
Fincher, who hit gold with “Se7en” and followed with “The Game” and “Panic Room,” starts “Zodiac” off with a bang—literally. The film opens with a young couple parked on a deserted lovers’ lane in Vallejo, California, on July 4, 1969. As they sit in the car, a feeling of unease is heightened by the distant crackling sound of fireworks, and soon, the arrival of a second car. Parked silently behind them, it just sits—and waits. The coast seems clear when the car pulls back and drives away, but tension mounts again moments later as the car speedily returns, and a man with a blinding flashlight approaches the couple. Weeks later, a confession letter for the murder of the couple (and for another, murdered one year earlier) is sent to the San Francisco Chronicle from a man called “The Zodiac.” Along with it, he sends a page written in cipher code.
With “Zodiac,” Fincher strays from his usual storytelling ways to create a film that is more about watching the real-life events unfold rather than how they actually happened, focusing on the obsessive effect these events have on the characters instead of on the sheer terror of the attacks. The film follows four men over a 22-year period in their quest to solve the Zodiac murder mysteries of the San Francisco Bay area: Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), an editorial cartoonist at the Chronicle; Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.), the Chronicle’s star crime reporter and drunkard; and partners David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and Bill Armstrong (Anthony Edwards), the homicide investigators who must comb through 2,500 suspects to figure out who the real killer is.
Written by James Vanderbilt, based on two books written by the real-life Graysmith, “Zodiac” is wonderfully acted from the lead to supporting actors. Gyllenhaal is believable as the earnest, curious bookworm more interested in decoding the cipher in the Zodiac’s letter than in finishing his cartoons at the Chronicle, and Ruffalo is equally convincing as a cocky investigator who slowly grows weary and loses hope in the case. The standout performance, however, belongs to the brilliant Downey, who demands attention in every one of his scenes. Downey nails his role as a self-destructive, drug-addicted journalist, delivering his lines with ease.
Acting aside, the film as a whole could be improved by cutting some unnecessary scenes. At a sprawling 157 minutes, “Zodiac” ends up feeling like a “Lord of the Rings” film—except instead of multiple endings, viewers barely get one. By mirroring the long process of the investigation and ending the film where he did, Fincher instills a feeling of unrest in his viewers, and haves them leave the theatre questioning what actually happened, and ultimately wanting more.
4*/5*
