Zodiac - 2007

Directed By: David Fincher
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Robert Downey Jr, Brian Cox, John Carroll Lynch, Chloe Sevigny,Elias Koteas
Released: 18/05/2007

In the late sixties and seventies a serial killer terrorised San Francisco, his name was Zodiac, and he would taunt the police and local newspaper with letters which he claimed had encoded in them his identity. This is the basis of David Fincher’s new film. The director of Panic Room and Fight Club brings us a procedural drama which is further from his other serial killer film Seven than perhaps any of his previous work.

Fincher despatches the graphic violence rather early in this film, a few brutal, authentically portrayed murders which are as shocking as any modern horror film, quickly setting up the task in hand for the police officers plagued with solving the murders. Also enraptured by these events are the local newspaper, The San Francisco Chronicle. One of the paper’s employees, Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist with a penchant for decoding is the author of the books which this film uses as it basis for the narrative.

Shot on a Thomson Viper FilmStream digital camera, Zodiac also became the first film ever to be recorded directly onto a memory card, completely bypassing the film/tape format. For this reason alone the film stands up as a landmark in modern cinema. And it’s ironic also that the film focuses so much on the role of communication within the film. One of the thematic issues explored by the film is how the communication between departments and jurisdictions drastically decreased the chances of catching the Zodiac killer. Robert Graysmith, played with predictable quality by Jake Gyllenhaal, finds out more incriminating evidence years after the murders simply because he doesn’t have the obstacle of bureaucratic jurisdiction to get through.

Zodiac is a film of procedural drama which is as concerned with the journey and affects on the lives of those involved as it is with the possibility of solving the case. The Zodiac case is actually still open, with the prime suspect having died some years ago and no irrefutable evidence proving beyond doubt who the killer was. This makes the film hard to conclude and Fincher rightly chooses to focus primarily on his characters, detectives David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo), and William Armstrong (Anthony Edwards) and reporters Paul Avery, (Robert Downey Jr). Along with Gyllenhaal’s Graysmith, Fincher pays close attention to their lives and careers and how a case of this nature can destroy both. It’s a credit to all those involved that they play down the theatricality of the performances in favour of a far more naturalistic and authentic portrayal of their characters (Steve McQueen based his character in Bullitt partially on Toschi). Fincher and screenwriter James Vanderbilt, also never attempt to glamorise or sensationalize events in the film. Characters get reassigned for their families, fall off the wagon, lose their careers, and disappear from the story all in an effort to maintain realism. All of this along with Fincher’s keen eye for detail, work to create one of the most engrossing and mature crime drama’s of recent years. The film’s closest comparison can be drawn in All the Presidents Men, with its real life authenticity and investigative approach to the story.

Inevitably the film lends itself toward the beliefs of Robert Graysmith, who had clear ideas and just reason for believing who he thought the killer to be. For this reason the film fails to explore the other possible suspects but in doing so would have had to abandon to personal crusades the characters, most obsessively Graysmith, go through in order to reach personal resolutions.

At a little over 2 ½ hours the film never feels over long and Fincher ensures the pace and intrigue remain as high as possible, especially in the few sequences where Graysmith edges ever closer to pinpointing who he believes may be the killer.

An all round cast shines through with stand outs including Ruffalo, as versatile as ever, and Downey Jr, whose current output puts him amongst the best working today. Gyllenhaal, who proves that acting doesn’t have to melodramatic to be compelling, is superb, guiding us through all the intricacies of the story. Ultimately the film is not quite as riveting as Fincher’s earlier serial killer film Seven, but certainly sets him apart as potentially the best young American filmmaker working today, with all the maturity and cinematic expertise of a master.

Zodiac may not quite scale the cinematic heights of Fight Club, but Fincher shows that he has a clear and definitive understanding of the cinematic process and as with his previous efforts is still looking for ways to push the envelope of cinema.