Don't go to see a movie about the search for a serial killer alone at 3 p.m. on a Wednesday. Zodiac isn't a scary movie, but you'll still be hoping for the company of something more reassuring than empty soda cups. The film, directed by David Fincher, is based on the book by Robert Graysmith and police files from the time period. It depicts the crimes of the Zodiac Killer and the effects of the manhunt on the investigators and reporters involved. It is a tense and engaging film that is worth seeing.
Throughout the late 1960s and early '70s, a serial killer terrorizes northern California. The killer, who calls himself the Zodiac, sends letters and cryptograms to law enforcement agencies and newspapers claiming responsibility for dozens of murders over a period of years. Inspectors David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and William Armstrong (Anthony Edwards) investigate the crimes, but the case also catches the interests of reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) and cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal). As years pass and the leads dry up, detectives are reassigned and writers are given new stories. Graysmith, however, continues his personal investigation, with occasional help from Inspector Toschi. The more evidence he collects, the closer Graysmith gets to discovering the true identity of the Zodiac. His investigation, however, quickly becomes an obsession that could ruin his life.
There isn't a whole lot of action or any mind-blowing special effects in Zodiac, so the entertainment value of the film is mostly based on the strong performances of the experienced cast members. Ruffalo and Gyllenhaal have both cultivated reputations for quality work in independent and mainstream fare, and can now add Zodiac to their already impressive resumes. Downey Jr. has given a number of critically acclaimed performances between drug arrests and was able to use his past experiences to believably portray Avery. Edwards brings the same humanity and realism to the police procedural that he contributed to ER for eight years.
As glad as I was to see Dr. Greene again, the most effective piece of casting in the film was that of the Zodiac himself. The killer is played by three different actors (John Lacy, Richmond Arquette and Bob Stephenson) throughout the film, so the audience is never able to fix the character with any one appearance. This intentional ambiguity highlights the film's refusal to draw any real conclusions about the true identity of the Zodiac. Though there were several promising suspects over the years, investigators where never able to definitively say who had hunted humans in the San Francisco area. The film points out the man that Robert Graysmith linked to the crime, but it also presents facts that go against his theory. Though it is somewhat frustrating that the bad guy isn't collared at the end of the film, it is also a testament to the commitment of the filmmakers to the reality of the events.
Like all of Fincher's films, Zodiac is dark and intriguing. It lacks the shocking and twisted mentality of Se7en and Fight Club, but it is no less interesting. Zodiac is an extremely detailed and entertaining account of a killer's rampage and the people unfortunate enough to live through it.
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