To hunt a killer. This is about one of the most infamous serial killers of all time: the Zodiac Killer. Starting in 1968, he took the lives of innocent people in northern California seemingly at random. He further taunted the public by writing to the local newspapers to demand they publish ciphers so that his reputation could be built. Zodiac focuses largely on cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), who became obsessed with the case and putting all the evidence together. I haven’t seen this movie since it was in theaters over 17 years ago. I remember it being both long and excellent, and that was saying something at the time because I can distinctly recall myself being tired the night I chose to watch it. Zodiac is a film that has aged remarkably well.
If you have already seen Se7en, you already know this is perfect material for director David Fincher. In fact, it’s somewhat more chilling because it is based on a real-life case instead of a made-up one. The tone is pitch black, but the element I didn’t recall after so many years is how well-timed the comedic relief is here. It is 100% necessary to alleviate the bleak tension, and I was somewhat surprised how often this got audible laughs out of me. I’m not calling it a laugh a minute or anything, but how can you not chuckle at Brian Cox being snarky in a supporting role or Robert Downey Jr. and Jake Gyllenhaal discussing the case over exotic blue cocktails? Just as an aside, it’s a little odd that the entirety of the top-billed cast went on to play major roles in the MCU, but I suppose that is neither here nor there. Zodiac is an excellent police procedural, and it fits together exactly as one would hope. Between RDJ, Gyllenhaal, and Mark Ruffalo, the latter of which plays a police detective investigating the murders, these are all obsessive men who want to crack the case. I think the area that Zodiac succeeds the most is showcasing just how much red tape there is to cut through in police work, specifically when you start to cross over county lines. Nobody is interested in scratching your back until you scratch theirs, and it always leads to people going around in circles. There is always an “Oh, that’s not in our jurisdiction,” or a “We don’t have a fax machine over here yet.” The only way that anything ends up getting done is by connecting with people who recognize bullshit rules as being arbitrary and let the little things slide.
There is one thing about Zodiac that holds me back from giving the film a perfect score, and that is the last forty minutes or so is as dense as can be. I read in a review that Fincher directed his actors to deliver their lines quickly so as to avoid cuts from the studio, and that tracks. Right before the movie reaches its climax, it becomes challenging to keep up with names and dates, and that is just inopportune timing. For me, this movie would be a five-star film if it was a full three hours instead of clocking in twenty minutes shy. Still, I reserve the right to come back and rate this higher in the future because this is still a mystery period piece that fires on mostly all cylinders, and that is very much my jam.
Zodiac (2007) ****1/2
– Critic for Hire
Critic for Hire 