Zodiac

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr. Directed by: David Fincher Runtime: 160 min. Rated: R Release date: March 2, 2007 - More Info
READER RATINGS:
7.2 OVERALL	Smart . . . . . . . . 9.6 Sexy . . . . . . . . . 5 Funny . . . . . . . . 5.2

The Hooksexup Review

Can a movie work as a compelling character study and still be largely devoid of characters? David Fincher's sprawling, impossibly dense, unusually gripping take on the Zodiac killings that haunted the San Francisco Bay Area in the late '60s and early '70s dares to be that movie. Shorn of the usual introspection and backstory that accompanies serial killer films (and, let's face it, most films in general) Fincher's film takes an almost Olympian view of the Zodiac events — sifting through the murders themselves, the police reaction and the media coverage with effortless abandon.

That's not to suggest that the film generalizes its subject matter; on the contrary, this is one of the most exhaustively detailed, obsessive films made about. . . well, anything . Like many others, Fincher himself was apparently fixated on the Zodiac killings as a kid in the '70s, and he's made a film that would do that kid and his fellow Zodiac fiends proud. More lay viewers, however, may have some problems with the unconventional approach, given that Fincher and screenwriter James Vanderbilt give relatively little priority to the ostensible real-life protagonists: legendary San Francisco detective Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo), crime reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey, almost stealing the film) and cartoonist-turned-sleuth Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal, the closest thing the movie has to a lead). If anything, the main character in Zodiac is not really a person at all, but rather the hive-mind of terror, activity and obsession that resulted from the case. There's a reason why the atmosphere positively drips off the screen here: it's our hero.

Despite the surplus of mood, those salivating for the usual Fincherian camera pyrotechnics may well be disappointed — save for some nifty color schemes, our man is more in Alan J. Pakula territory here. Zodiac recalls films like The Parallax View and All the President's Men more than it does Se7en or Silence of the Lambs. But the director's got something more important than style on his mind. His newfound austerity is there to serve the film's single-minded fixation on the Zodiac phenomenon. Fancy camerawork — or, for that matter, characters — would just get in the way. — Bilge Ebiri

Other Reviews

Variety
Todd McCarthy
"The cinematic touchstone for Zodiac is clearly All the President's Men. And yet the feel of the new film is very different. . . The pic possesses a kind of seedy dreaminess that most strongly recalls another indelible epic of '70s California, Boogie Nights. Both films occupy that rarified high ground where audacious artistry and nervy commercial filmmaking occasionally converge."
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The Village Voice
Nathan Lee
"As a crime saga, newspaper drama, and period piece, it works just fine. As an allegory of life in the information age, it blew my mind."
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LA Weekly
Scott Foundas
"Fincher's Zodiac is a study in the passage of time and the accumulation of massive amounts of information — a movie that seems to be unfolding inside of a cramped storage locker. And it is, though it may not sound like it, thrilling to behold."
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The Hollywood Reporter
Michael Rechtshaffen
"The notorious San Francisco Bay Area serial killer might have eluded law enforcement agencies for decades, but the compelling cat-and-mouse story that is Zodiac never escapes the virtuoso grip of director David Fincher."
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Your Reviews

Robert Downey Jr.'s character glued everything together for me; as a result, I really enjoyed watching this film. Norm from Fargo! Rockin the serial Murders! Killer actors these two fellows.

posted by spectrumseven on 1/30/2008 4:07:54 PM
Hooksexup personals profile: spectrumseven

This movie was incredible. I am a big fan of David Fincher, as I love his visuals ... but the storytelling of the Zodiac murders and the acting is what blew me away. Robert Downey Jr. has to be one of our best actors and Jake Gyllenhaal really steps up to make the role of Robert Graysmith is own. Mark Ruffalo is awesome as always. The movie had an eerie sense of creepiness, and a heavy shroud of anxiousness that made you feel as if you were in San Francisco during the time of the murders, waiting for the Zodiac's next letter of intent, or a report of a new killing. Facts and formulations have never been so entertaining - or compelling. You feel defenseless and ambitious at the same time - someone needs to find the killer and if they do, will anyone really know for sure? Mark Ruffalo and Jake Gyllenhaal's characters bring all the right things into question. Missing or no communication between police departments, blood testing, tainted evidence, hand writing analysis.... testing has vastly improved. Can someone please look into this case - and why hasn't it already been done? This movie delivers true Hollywood entertainment.