Zodiac (2007) – Film Review

Director: David Fincher
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo
Certificate: 18

By Sarah Morgan

True crime movies and documentaries – you can’t seem to be able to escape from them these days.

But while some have clearly been churned out quickly to cash in on a trend, others stand out from the crowd because they’ve been carefully put together by craftspeople at the very top of their game.

Once such production is Zodiac, David Fincher’s masterpiece about the hunt for the Zodiac killer, who struck terror into the residents of the San Francisco Bay Area from the late-1960s to the early-1970s before seemingly disappearing into thin air.

“Charismatic and eye-catching”

Okay, so it was released in 2007, before true crime really became an obsession with millions of viewers around the world, but fans of the genre will no doubt have lapped it up in the years since – and rightly so because it should be considered as crucial viewing.

The Zodiac killings inspired Dirty Harry (watch out for a clip during the film), whose lead protagonist (and that of Bullitt) were inspired by Inspector Dave Toschi, a charismatic and eye-catching (thanks to his big hair and love of loud clothing) SFPD detective who was involved in trying to catch the murderer.

He’s played in Zodiac by Mark Ruffalo; if ever anyone considers rebooting Columbo or doing a biopic based on Peter Falk’s life, he’s your man – he bears a resemblance to the actor, and simply needs a trench coat to complete the look.

However, it’s Jake Gyllenhaal who is the centre of attention as Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist at the San Francisco Chronicle. After the publication receives several handwritten letters claiming to be from Zodiac, detailing aspects of his crimes that nobody but the police and the culprit could know, Graysmith becomes increasingly obsessed with unmasking him.

Initially he works alongside crime reporter Paul Avery (the always wonderful Robert Downey Jr), but when Avery, struggling with drug and alcohol issues, drops out, Graysmith goes it alone, ultimately paying a personal price for his drive and determination.

“Uniformly excellent”

James Vanderbilt’s screenplay is based on the two books Graysmith wrote about Zodiac; he manages to pack in a lot of information without ever making the viewer feel weighed down by facts and figures. Instead, we’re desperate to know more.

Fincher should also be applauded for keeping matters zipping along at pace; despite the run time of more than two and a half hours, the film never feels as if it sags or that it’s padded out in any way.

The cast is uniformly excellent, with those already mentioned joined by Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Elias Koteas, Philip Baker Hall, Chloe Sevigny and, last but not least, John Carroll Lynch, who keeps things lowkey as prime suspect Arthur Leigh Allen, somehow making him more chilling in the process.

This 4K director’s cut version is an absolute joy, with special features including various commentaries from cast and crew members and a making-of documentary just adding to the enjoyment.

Sarah Morgan( Writer )

Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.

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