Zodiac [DVD] [2007]

On the face of it, David Fincher's 2007 film, based on the real-life Californian Zodiac serial killings of the late 1960s/early 1970s, being a slow-moving, 150 minute account of the nefarious goings-on, might pose the question - do we really need another cinematic account on this subject, which (if you'll pardon the pun) has surely been done to death in recent years? However, what transpires (for me, at least) is a superbly, atmospheric and evocative character study of obsessive/compulsive behaviour by the film's three main protagonists - San Francisco Chronicle crime journalist Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr., at his most languid and cool), Avery's co-worker, geeky cartoonist and ultimately chief Zodiac pursuer, Robert Graysmith (a, frankly, ideal name for this character who is nicely played by Jake Gyllenhaal) and similarly obsessed (and personally troubled) cop David Toschi (featuring another outstanding turn by one of Hollywood's current finest, Mark Ruffalo).The 'action' in Zodiac (of which there is relatively little, in the traditional sense) takes place over a 20-year timeframe, during which Fincher depicts the key case events as the Zodiac's pursuers repeatedly fail to turn up trumps. The film largely eschews the traditional fast-paced action of films of this genre, including that of Fincher's earlier Se7en (great though that was) and instead focuses on mood and characterisation, whilst at the same time maintaining a good deal of audience tension via a series of scenes in which Toschi & Co. interview potential suspects. Fincher has done a great job depicting the era of the film, a time before 'telefaxes' were common and police forensics was still in its infancy, and also uses the music of the time to great effect (Young Girl, Bernadette, Rose Garden, Inner City Blues, etc). Undoubtedly the most memorable piece of music in the film, however, is Donovan's Hurdy Gurdy Man, which takes on macabre resonance as it accompanies the film's opening killing (which, with its near-Friday The 13th look is, thankfully, atypical of the remainder of Fincher's film).That is, however, not to belittle those moments in Zodiac which are genuinely unnerving and/or frightening, such as the scene where prime suspect, the creepy Arthur Leigh Allen (John Carroll Lynch) casually admits to the police a series of incriminating (albeit circumstantial) facts, or the classic 'not many people have basements in California' scene as Graysmith confronts (similarly creepy) cinema worker Bob Vaughn (Charles Fleischer). Fincher also peppers the film with black humour, such as that where Toschi, suffering the initial signs of mental breakdown at the pressure of the case, wishes he could adopt Clint Eastwood's approach in Dirty Harry and 'blow away' his serial killer ('no need for due process').In addition to the film's central triumvirate of acting talent, Zodiac also features impressive turns from Brian Cox (reversing his Hannibal Lecter role in Manhunter) as the attorney Melvin Belli, who tries to coax the Zodiac into revealing himself, Phillip Baker Hall as the officious handwriting expert, Sherwood Morrill, Chloe Sevigny as Graysmith's second wife, Melanie, who becomes increasingly despairing at her husband's obsession with the case and Elias Koteas as local cop, Sgt. Jack Mulanax.No doubt the film's slow pace and (necessarily) rather inconclusive ending did not score highly with many potential fans, but, for me, these work in Zodiac's favour, making it my favourite of all Fincher's films.

This is one of the most brilliant suspense films of recent times. I have watched it several times on the BBC and decided to buy it through Amazon (only £2.94). It fleshes out, very satisfyingly, the story of the Zodiac killer (perhaps the great unsolved American serial killer story). It has a tremendous cast led by Jake Gylenhaal, Robert Downey and Mark Ruffalo and there’s fantastic support from Anthony Edwards and the superb Brian Cox. This is based on a book by Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist at the San Francisco Chronicle, and his involvement in the case. If you have ever seen Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry, we’ll this is the story that it was partly based on. There is no ‘well, this is a 44 magnum…’ type stuff. But it is gripping and is based on Graysmith’s book about the murders and the attempts to capture the Zodiac. Tremendous.

Great film

This is an outstanding film and I was really surprised that I had not seen it sooner.This is a story based upon the actual investigation to find the Zodiac killer who reportedly killed 37 people in San Francisco Bay area in the late '60s/'70s. Normally any film based on 'true crime' which I've seen has been quite low budget and a somewhat formulaic retelling of events, but this film is so fast paced and skillfully directed, with such good acting, that it reminds me a lot of "All The Presidents Men."Jake Gyllenhaal is outstanding as Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist at the San Francisco Chronicle, who takes it upon himself to find out who the Zodiac killer is. The other main actors are Robert Downey Jr as the lead reporter Paul Avery,(excellent as always) and Mark Ruffalo, who I've only seen in comedies, who is actually very good as Detective Toschi. The director is David Fincher who directed Se7en and Gone Girl. It's a film where you can't miss a second, and contains some really unnerving scenes, as well as (surprisingly) very funny moments.I see that this was the most reviewed film of 2007 after No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, and it has won quite a few awards (eg the Palme D'Or at Cannes). I honestly believe that this film would have done better at the Box Office had it not been for the way in which this type of subject matter is generally portrayed, I only rushed to buy the DVD myself after having seen some of the film on TV! Even the special feature is very good, it was extremely interesting to see how much work and research went into the film. It's a must.

This film is quite a long one, and as such it is easy to lose interest after a while. But the pace picks up late on in the film to give it a full and wholesome finish.The style of the film captures the period of the sixties through to the eighties very well indeed and we are quite easily transported back to the day of the Zodiac killer.The film is based upon Robert Graysmith's book of the same name, and is of course recounting actual events. As such the film makes everything astonishingly accurate, to the day etc. As such it puts a certain strain on the pace of the film, breaking it up a little too much, and the vast jumps in time from a few hours to several years can get a bit irritating after a while. I understand that this fragmented style is representative of the way in which the case developed, but as a film I don't quite think it works.Again, on a similar point, some of the characters are only briefly introduced and are not fully rounded and plausible and simply pass Graysmith by as he explores, but it means the audience has to make a lot of connections itself, which in this era of extended stupity some may find annoying and even difficult to do. But again that contributes to the whole style of the film and is probably how Graysmith felt as he was writing the book.Overall though, it is an interesting film and worth the watch if you can spare two and a half hours.