A Modern Classic

Rating: 10/10 (9 July 2013)

In the same way that virtually everyone knows the verdict in Oliver Stone's brilliant movie JFK, I should think everyone who is interested in the Zodiac case, should know, just like JFK, it was never solved. The Zodiac by David Fincher, is a film about the investigation that took place into this elusive serial killer, who in my mind may not have been a serial killer at all, but a group of killers. That is the fascination of the Zodiac case, the fact that it was never solved. This fascination is shared by many many people even today.
David Fincher's Zodiac is in the tradition of the classic intelligent conspiracy thrillers, such as JFK, ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN and the EIGER SANCTION. It is most certainly a character driven movie, focusing on the driven characters who try to hunt down and figure out from the plethora of cryptic messages and scant testimony of witnesses , who the zodiac is. It is a movie about the fascination the Zodiac case had on someone and how they get so obsessed with the mysterious killer, that they give up everything in order to find out who he is. It is very well made and very entertaining and like the case, fascinating.
It is filmed in the periods of 1969 to 1991 , and looks authentic, the period details very convincing, they transport you to the times. This is another thing in favour of this film, the way it looks, and also how it was acted by the two leads, who play the newspaper men who got caught up in the fascination trap of trying to crack the Zodiac puzzle. All through the movie we trace them in the centre of it , and are shown how the obsession affects their lives forever.
The important characters in this film, to me, are the newspaper men, rather than the police involved, as to them it is just routine and part of their Job. But with the newspaper men, you can tell they really want to know who the Zodiac is, because the Zodiac is more than a killer, he is a enigmatic mind, and becomes to them a never ending game , forcing their own brains to rise to the challenge of his Zodiac puzzle.
Like i said it is a classic , a modern classic. There are not many films made of this standard today,,,,,,,,,,, 10/10