Who's the Hurdy Gurdy Man?

Rating: 10/10 (25 March 2007)

Zodiac (2007) ****
Zodiac is a great procedural film that focuses not so much on the crimes of the infamous killer, but the meticulous and frustrating search for him.
This is, I think, Fincher's best film. He's is back in the serial killer genre, and he one up's his other near masterpiece Seven. This is a long movie, clocking in at almost 3 hours, but it's never boring. Fincher doesn't overplay the violence, but he doesn't underplay it as well - the murders are brutal, made all the more so by the fact that Fincher manages to make them seem incredibly authentic. Essentially all of the violence is out of the way in the first hour, and then it turns head on into the frustrating process of trying to catch a killer who it turned out to be impossible to catch.. Gyllenhaal is listed as the main character, and he for the most part is, but the films narrative jumps around between Graysmith and the police, headed up by Mark Ruffalo in a career best performance as Dave Toschi. Robert Downy Jr and Anthony Edwards also give some great performances.
Even though the big "scares" are out of the way early, Fincher finds ways to add tension to the small moments, which are very nice. Even though Gyllenhaal doesn't quite have the right look in my opinion, he does give a good performance that despite doubts was believable enough.
The films huge strength is in its great story telling, and very solid direction from Fincher. He doesn't resort to the camera tricks of his past films, but he works some great cinematography in a more subtle and far more effective way. Not to mention a great soundtrack used the perfection.
Zodiac is one of the best American films so far this year, and even though it's not making a big box office splash, looks for this one to garner a lasting reputation.
4/4