David Fincher’s Zodiac tells the story of the serial killer who terrorized Northern California in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Based upon the book by Robert Graysmith, a political cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle at the time who became the unofficial main investigator after the police were stumped, the story offers a fascinating look inside the case.
Zodiac made a name for himself by taunting the police and newspapers with coded letters of his deeds. He also terrorized the city of San Francisco with claims of killing school buses full of children. The lead detectives in San Francisco are Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and Bill Armstrong (Anthony Edwards). After dealing with bureaucratic red tape, they combine information with other police departments, which only gets them so far. In 1971, they interrogate a suspect named Arthur Leigh Allen (John Carroll Lynch) and talk with his coworkers and family members. Signs point to him, but a handwriting expert exonerates him.
The crime reporter for the Chronicle, Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) works the case for the paper, getting in the way of the police occasionally. In his columns, he writes disparaging remarks about Zodiac, which results in Avery receiving a threatening letter. Avery’s drug and alcohol consumption only add to his paranoia.
Eventually the killings and letters stop, yet no one is any closer to discovering Zodiac’s identity. The police department and newspaper no longer have the resources to continue their investigations. Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), who has been deeply obsessed with the case, makes it the sole focus in his life. He has a lot of knowledge about the case and makes inroads, due in part to what Toschi can and cannot tell him. But is it enough to catch the killer?
Zodiac is a great film, top to bottom. It’s a compelling investigative piece, equal to the classic All the President’s Men, which Fincher acknowledges as an influence. It is Fincher’s best film to date and while there’s no heavy hand felt, he’s obviously in control the entire time. There are moments of suspense, humor, and fright, but they all fit within the film’s tone. The cast does a fantastic job, although Gyllenhaal, who does just as fine a job as anyone else performance-wise, doesn’t look like he is of the time period.
Not only one of the best movies of 2007, but David Fincher’s Zodiac – 2 Disc Director’s Cut is already in the running for best DVD of 2008. The colors on the disc are very vibrant, especially the yellows, which jump off the screen. Aside from the extremely informative commentary tracks, one by Fincher and one by actors Jake Gllyenhaal and Robert Downey Jr., producer Brad Fischer, screenwriter James Vanderbilt, and crime author James Ellroy, the “speshul features” also include hours of informative and interesting bonus material in HD that are divided into two parts: Film and Facts.
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