Review of Zodiac (2007) by Blake P — 21 Aug 2014

The best thing about "Zodiac" is how far away it goes from typical serial killer movie tendencies. So many other films with a famed murderer as its subject tend to strive away from the real-life tragedies and make it one juicy filet of madness. But "Zodiac" doesn't focus on the criminal behind the actions - it is instead like "All the President's Men", portraying a group of people who would not rest until the truth finally came to light.

Famously, the Zodiac was never identified, nor brought to justice, yet the film gives us closure that can't be felt through a Wikipedia page or a true crime novel. It's a rather quiet, slow film, its 157 minutes just as long and frustrating as the investigation itself.

The film opens with a murder, bizarre and bloody, and instantly we feel the same sort of eyes-agape anxiety the public felt during the time the Zodiac was at large. The killer shoots them, a flashlight taped to his gun. The victims are a clean-cut couple at a lover's lane, and only the man survives. We already begin to lock these minute details into our brain to look for patterns, inevitably.

But Fincher isn't fixated on the killings, nor does he try to make them cinematic. They are quick, horrifying, and almost awkward. Real murder isn't artistic in the way the shower scene was in "Psycho", after all.

"Zodiac" is intent on solving the case, not dwelling on the carnage. We are introduced to Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), a cartoonist, Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.), a reporter, and David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo), a detective. The three are the most involved in the solving of the case, even if Avery eventually falls off the deep end. Graysmith dedicates much of his life to it, which eventually disintegrates his marriage, while Toschi busies himself with other things, but can't help but still be curious about the murderer's identity.

There are so many false leads and dead ends that they are just as maddening to us as the people who actually lived it. Sure, the Zodiac killer eventually stopped being pressingly infamous, but the fact that we never find out who he is is like receiving an everlasting bug-bite that you can never scratch.

The public is always fascinated with serial killers, transforming the gore into a paranoid thrill ride. The backstories, the psychology, the mindset of the murderer can be an uncomfortably compelling thing. Even I'm guilty of this. But even with the most research, the most inside details, it's impossible to know the people that were touched by all the untamed danger.

The film spans over two-decades, and the beauty of it is that there are moments of terrifying intensity with others that are deadly boring. But without boring bits, "Zodiac" wouldn't nearly be as good. It's so true to life that those moments of nothingness make the film feel even more authentic.

It's a long, imperfect ride, but "Zodiac" has a fantastic set of actors and a top-notch director on its side to make even the dullest of bits turn into something of interest.