Darkly comic tale of obsession

Rating: 7/10 (12 June 2007)

I saw Zodiac today. I was deciding between Bordertown and this one, but decided on Zodiac because of the director David Fincher, whose Seven is a classic.
I was not disappointed. The atmosphere is really creepy. Just like what jess said, the murders were just the backdrop of the story. The main plot and 2/3's of the film revolves around the men investigating this case, whose lives were drawn into a tangled net by their obsession about solving the case.
Jake Gyllenhaal was very good in his role, as a dorkish naive cartoonist, whose family life was rent apart by his obsession with Zodiac. My favorite sequence was when Jake's character visited the cinema owner's eerie house and basement. It was darkly comic, yet without losing its creepy edge and chilling atmosphere. Jake was so effective in that scene!
Marc Ruffalo had to deal with a very difficult voice quality and accent, but he was believable. Chloe Sevigny was also quietly effective in her unexpectedly limited role, same with Dermot Mulroney (even dared to show his paunch!).
Much praise had been heaped on the performance of Robert Downey, Jr. But honestly, I don't get the love. I felt he actually ruined my appreciation any scene which contained him in with his ambiguous alcoholic character, which he played in a very annoying and hammy manner. Sorry for the Downey fans out there.
The ending was a bit abrupt and disjointed. But overall, this movie is definitely worth its screening time.