Not quite as strong as I had heard....

Rating: 7/10 (14 February 2008)

..."Zodiac" nonetheless serves as an interesting examination of the effects of obsession on individuals, most particularly upon the man from whose book James "Spider-Man 4" Vanderbilt's screenplay was adapted. That man, Robert Graysmith, a newspaper cartoonist with a peripheral interest in the case (rubbing shoulders as he did with journalists directly involved), eventually became preoccupied with identifying the notorious "Zodiac killer," a California nutjob who killed seemingly at random and then tormented the populace with confessional braggadocio via letters to various newspapers, and to law enforcement officials as well.
All in all, David "Alien 3" Fincher's decidedly unstylish film strikes me as a big-screen Movie of the Week, packing little of the emotional punch of "Se7en" or "Fight Club" or "Panic Room," his three most accomplished works to date. Whatever cat-and-mouse tension is generated in Act One while the killer is going about his dark business is soon dissipated when his rampage peters out and the story zeroes in on Graysmith's obsessive pursuit and its effect on his personal life. When Graysmith finally confronts his boogeyman, it comes as only mild satisfaction; the viewer is left wondering, "Okay, now what?" Unfortunately, that question is rendered moot; the man fingered by the film as the killer died before the law could bring him to justice.
Still, "Zodiac" is quite watchable. The acting features competent portrayals by the likes of Jake "Brokeback Mountain" Gyllenhaal as the determined cartoonist/investigator, Robert "Chaplin" Downey, Jr. as a journalist laid low by the events, Mark "Just Like Heaven" Ruffalo as one of the lead police investigators stymied by the case, and John Carroll "Fargo" Lynch as a wonderfully creepy suspect in the case. Numerous other "name" actors fill out the cast, but "Zodiac" really isn't about the acting. In fact, in some ways, I found the profusion of identifiable faces to be somewhat distracting; the film may well have played better without them, ala "United 93." A perfect example would be Chloë "Trees Lounge" Sevigny as Graysmith's wife, a thankless role at best, and hardly one that stretched her acting chops one iota.
Regardless, everyone acquits themselves well, and the production vales are top notch, including Harris "American Gangster" Savides' digital cinematography, Angus "Panic Room" Wall's careful editing, and composer David "Norma Rae" Shire's relatively unmanipulative score. The soundtrack of pop songs is evocative and appropriate without being too cutesy.
Unfortunately, the sum of the parts is somehow less than the whole, and "Zodiac" offers little in the way of repeat viewability, which is why I can only give it a "7." Its attention to detail may be of interest to fans of crime procedurals, but even the intricacies of the journey cannot mask the disappointment of the arrival at journey's end.