Zodiac - (R)

by Suzanne Baran
17 March 2007

ZODIAC is a ‘killer’ flick sans the gratuitous violence and sensationalism synonymous with Hollywood films. Skip it if you’re a blood lust fiend. It’s easily the best motion picture of 2007 thus far: it focuses on the process of fingering the killer and not on the killer or killings themselves.

Picture, if you will, ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN meets the Scorpio character in DIRTY HARRY. A crime reporter (ROBERT DOWNEY JR.), political cartoonist (JAKE GYLLENHAAL) for the San Francisco Chronicle, and two homicide detectives (MARK RUFFALO and ANTHONY EDWARDS) spend years trying to catch a serial killer who has never been caught (on the record). Their jobs, personal lives, and mental health are victims of cracking the case. In a sense, the Zodiac killer has not only killed his victims, but the lives of those piecing together fragments of tumultuous killing sprees.

Brilliantly executed by Seven and Fight Club director DAVID FINCHER, the film unfolds like a documentary infused with realism, bolstered by high-definition camerawork from HARRY SAVIDES. The viewer is never bogged down by boring details, or a trail gone cold—or gory homicides. Each scene is a clue that keeps the audience on the edges of their seats, wanting more.

Fincher’s musical selections enhance the grittiness of the film and its wholly accurate depiction of the era it took place in, the ‘70s. Select songs pull the viewer in through sound, not just visuals. DONOVAN’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man” is a perfect example of Fincher’s skillful audio-visual fusion.

The performances, too, truly make the film. Downey Jr. is razor-sharp, adept and enthralling as a crime reporter who spirals out. His addiction to the case creates an addiction to self-sabotage with the help of alcohol and coke. He’s a master at versatility. His performance was smarmy at times, funny at others, and painful at the pinnacle of his decline.

Gyllenhaal’s self-destruction is a bit different. His obsession for the facts propels him to the depths of insanity while remaining perfectly lucid about the particulars he uncovers and eventually validates. His family suffers and his marriage is ultimately ruined, yet he does not give up, even at the bitter end. Ruffalo is commanding and captivating—he speaks softly but has a strong presence. His uber-cop status was taken from him when demoted from homicide, but he embarks on the perceived ‘Salem Witch Hunt’. DONAL LOGUE has a small but important role as Ken Narlow, a retired Napa County Sheriff’s Department detective who hunted Zodiac from Sept. 27, 1969.

The case is dizzying, and each new fact is illuminated with aplomb, sucking the viewer into its whirlpool and then deeper yet. It’s captivating for what isn’t known as much as for what is.

This film has stamina, so much so that a close friend is shooting a darkly comical short film about a fictional couple that kill themselves as salvation from living under the supposed threat of the Zodiac.

Though the killer was never officially caught, audiences will be—by the staying power of this vertiginous film.

Filed under film drama