Great Portrayal of the Zodiac Investigation

Rating: Null/10 (4 March 2007)

The Joe Cool Experience: Zodiac(2007)
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith Mark Ruffalo as Inspector David Toschi Anthony Edwards as Inspector William Armstrong Robert Downey Jr as Paul Avery Brian Cox as Melvin Belli John Carroll Lynch as Arthur Leigh Allen
Plot: Based on real case files and the Robert Graysmith books, this movie went over the entire investigation concerning the Zodiac killer, who terrorized California in the 60's and 70's, but was never caught.
I didn't know much about this movie when I saw the trailer. I knew of the Zodiac killer, and I saw the cast list and who was directing it(David Fincher, the man who gave us Se7en). So I was pretty excited about this film and when the great reviews came in, I was even more excited. Could this be the first great film of 2007? Yes. Yes it was.
First of all let's get any and all problems with this movie dismissed right now. The movie is a little on the long side, clocking in at two hours and forty minutes. And there will be a point in the movie where you will look at your watch. Some of the material could have been cut out or shortened. But other than the length of this movie, I had no problems with it. At all.
That's because what is presented is a detailed and accurate(according to Bob Graysmith, anyway) portrayal of the Zodiac investigation. The Zodiac killer is one of the most infamous because he wasn't caught. And if the facts are to be believed, then it was certainly a long and trying investigation. Which leads to what else this movie was about, and what is said in the time line. There's more than one way to lose your life to a killer. This movie shows how the lives of people involved in the investigation were destroyed in some cases or how people just broke down thanks to this killer running wild. Fincher does an incredible job of showing the lives of the major players in the hunt for the Zodiac.
The acting was also extremely top-notch, and I don't think this movie would have worked as well if it didn't. Jake Gyllenhaal comes through again with another good performance. He even gets some laughs because of the quirks of his character. Robert Downey Jr plays an alcoholic Paul Avery very well(let's just stop there and not go into any jokes, okay?). The people playing the police officers, Anthony Edwards and Mark Ruffalo, among others, really got to show us how the case was affecting their lives and luckily they pulled it off. All that can be said about Brian Cox is that he's Brian Cox. What hasn't this man been able to portray? Finally John Carroll Lynch looks and acts creepy enough to believable as a suspect in any murder case, especially the prime suspect in the Zodiac one, Arthur Leigh Allen.
The script and lines work and the pacing of this movie keeps you interested throughout the whole thing. You may check your watch once because it's so long, but that doesn't mean you'll be any less drawn into the story. It presents the facts in a way that you are able to put the pieces together yourself, and sometimes you discover new clues along with the characters. Fincher doesn't make things obvious. He could have showed signs and made the characters oblivious, but he didn't. He also could have provided a definite answer to the investigation, but he really doesn't. He shows who the police thought was their prime suspect, but the truth is no one really knew. The investigation is portrayed over many years, so the length of the movie also makes sense because it's covering a very long time-span. That really hinders any true complaints about the running time.
I think Zodiac is the best movie of the year so far, and hopefully it's a sign that even more great ones will follow. Great script, great performances, great movie. Highly recommended.
Rating: ****1/2 of *****