Zodiac (2007)

Director: David Fincher
Screenplay: James Vanderbilt (based on the book by Robert Graysmith)
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr. 
Music: David Shire
Time: 157 minutes
Bottom-line: No guns, no fights, but still probably the best detective film I have seen

Zodiac is not your usual crime thriller. In fact, the thrill that this film provides is proportional to your patience. The story is based on actual events that took place in the late 1960s and early 70s, and it is about a serial killer. This case remains, till date, as one of the most infamous unsolved cases. Jake Gyllenhaal and Mark Ruffalo play the lead roles, with Anthony Edwards and Robert Downey Jr. playing the supporting roles.

Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith

One night, two teenagers are brutally shot in Vallejo. The boy survives, while the girl dies of injuries. A month later, a letter written by the killer arrives at the San Francisco Chronicle. Working there are cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Gyllenhaal) – who would later write the book on which the film is based – and crime reporter Paul Avery (Downey Jr.). In the next few months, several letters arrive, each with a cryptic message. The killer calls himself the ‘Zodiac’. When the Zodiac murders a cab driver, detective Dave Toschi (Ruffalo) is assigned to the case. Robert soon becomes obsessed with case, and starts to conduct his own investigations. Whether or not the Zodiac gets caught and how this case transforms the lives of the lead characters form the rest of the film.

Ruffalo as Dave Toschi

The story is based on actual case files, as the caption at the beginning of the film says. So, I said that the case remains unsolved, but I am not going to tell you how David Fincher ends the film... see that for yourself! The way the film is shown is exactly as if you are reading it in a book. Except for the two brutal murder scenes, the film has no violence and no action. It is entirely dialogue-driven, and it follows the step-by-step investigation conducted by the police and Graysmith. But, the suspense is still there in every scene. As I watched this on my computer, I could pause and rewind to understand the dialogues more carefully, and you may need to do the same. This link provides the entire story, but read it after watching the film, if you are interested in what actually happened. If you like mystery novels, you will enjoy the film more. Just follow the dialogues, the other clues shown on the screen, and you will understand the film, with perhaps, a little help from Google too.

Downey Jr. as Paul Avery

In the technical aspects, the film is brilliant. Fincher is adept with the use of visual effects. He doesn’t flood the screen with CGI but uses just the right amount of effects at just the right places. The slow-motion murder sequences really make you feel the brutality of the killings (look out for the camerawork in the scene building up the murder of the cab driver). The cinematography and Shire’s score are top notch as well. The period settings (which also involved some CGI) and editing are equally good. But half the scenes are shot in the dark, and a few important dialogues are spoken on the phone, which are not heard that clearly, so it becomes a little difficult to follow the film.

The killer, as shown in the film

As far as acting goes, it is a Jake Gyllenhaal show. In the first half of the film, he hardly displays any emotion, but in the second half, his acting is awesome. Robert Downey Jr. comes mainly in the first half. Now, this film came before Downey Jr. started playing Iron Man, but he still had style in him. Even though he is log-faced, his style made me like his acting. Mark Ruffalo was utterly bored with his role. I hope that the real Dave Toschi had a better attitude towards the case; Ruffalo, throughout the film, looks like ‘The Zodiac was never found, so why should I act as if I am going to find him?’

Overall, David Fincher’s Zodiac is a classy thriller. Don’t expect anything big – there are no fights and such, but only dialogues. But if a mystery novel with only police work can be made into such a suspenseful film, credit goes to Fincher and crew: this is a perfect display of the surgical, meticulous detective work. The story is thrilling, provided you are willing to do a bit of extra research to understand the actual events fully. In my view, this is one of the best crime thrillers (which involve police work I mean) I have seen.

Note: Another useful link: http://zodiackiller.com

My Rating: 5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 89%