ZODIAC by David Fincher - a strong study of a killer hunt.

Rating: 8/10 (9 June 2007)

David Finchers new film is not only completely different from his other movies. like "Fight Club", "Alien 3" or "Se7en", it is also completely opposite to what moviegoers would expect. It is not a serial killer movie. It is a dark, atmospheric and very suspenseful study of those four characters - San Francisco Chronicle Reporter Paul Avery,his colleague the cartoonist Robert Graysmith on whose book the film is based), San Francisco Detective David Toschi and his colleague Bill Armstrong - who are, and in part, keep searching for the scary serial murderer ,who kalled himself the "Zodiac",for 22 years; and it is also a study of the scars that their search is leaving on their minds and souls. The film is so precisely authentic as Richard Fleischers 1968 classic "The Boston Strangler" with Tony Curtis, and it is a powerful dialogue film almost as strong as Alan J. Pakulas "All The President's Men" from 1976. Yet, there are some weaknesses in Finchers excellent film, and most of them rely on the screenplay by James Vanderbilt. The Film gives away to many filmic opportunities (for example: The Zodiacs threat to attack a schulbus is only referred to in a little scene, when Robert Graysmith does not allow his son to take the bus, because of fear. Why is there not a sequence showing how police officers had to guide the buses in the bay area for months? Or: When one of the victims is taking a nightly carride with the killer, without knowing, the film cuts very early, though this ride in reality took hours. Why not exploring that fearful situation? Why not using that - authentic - material? Strong filmic possibility - not used well enough)and those opportunities would have helped to give the viewer a deeper impression of the fright of the people - and finally, that fright is the motor of the investigation that the film is about. A second problem, although not a very big one, but still nerving, is the permanent giving of dates. You sew terms like "2 weeks later" so often displayed on the screen, that you sometimes tend to loose the knowledge of where on the time table you are. It would have been better to stick to that device only for the most important sequences of the case - instead of using them always. The third and last weakness of Finchers movie , is that the screenplay as well as Finchers direction never gives us the possibility to go deep enough into the pain, despair and frustration of the "searchers" - their feelings are explored, and those characters are portrayed very well, but since the film concentrates on their feelings as a main topic, those feelings stay a little bit too much on the surface to carry the whole movie. But the structure and very fine acting does instead. Robert Downey jr's performance is exquisite, especially his timing and presence, but also the slow , almost invisible sliding of his character into drug and alcohol abuse. Excellent too is Jake Gyllenhaal in portrayng Robert Graysmith, whose well meant idea to help find the killer develops more and more in a blind and destructive obesession he sacrifices everything for. Mark Ruffalo can convince as David Toschi, especially pointing out his frustration in the second half of the .The entire supporting cast is quite good in addition. But despite of those three weaknesses , mentioned before, it is still a strong, highly entertaining and almost hypnotizing retelling of a legendary investagition in a brave, and well fitting, semi - documentary - style, a film whose authenticity is maybe more chilling than the most thrillers are, a film that never feels nearly as long as its running time actually is. One of the most interesting films this year.