Not his best, but still pretty good

Rating: 7/10 (3 August 2016)

Fincher has a typical reputation other filmmakers can only dream of. A part from Alien3 he has only made movies that are loved by critics and fans: The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room, not to mention Se7en. In this film about the hunt for the memorable killer that hit San Francisco in the seventies, Fincher again chooses an original approach, which results in an intriguing movie.
Like the aforementioned Se7en Zodiac is also about the hunt for a serial killer. But unlike its predecessor it has quite a different outcome. This time the focus is on the hunters, but the pace their quest progresses in is much lower and a lot less hectic than Se7en. Robert Graysmith (Gyllenhaal) works as a cartoonist at the San Francisco Chronicle. When the news comes out that a serial killer is on the lose, he becomes intrigued. He was initially followed with suspicion by crime reporter Paul Avery (Downey Jr.) and cop David Toschi (Ruffalo), but Graysmith just could not let the Zodiac and its cryptic messages go.
With its excessive length of over two and a half hours one would say you get bored at any time in this film. Strangely enough this is not the case. And while the majority consists of talking heads; Graysmith talking about the case with Avery; Toschi who talks about the matter with his colleague Bill (Edwards); Graysmith talking about the case with Toschi; it just does not all sound quite intriguing. But actually it is! The relevant dialogues are strong and certainly contributes to this, but if you're looking for a reason why Zodiac will grab you by the throat, it is the tireless dedication of Fincher. He combines wonderfully good camera work with a very thorough preparation. The script is based on the book by the real Graysmith (must-read!) And Fincher had hours of interviews with the people involved and file cabinets full of stuff figured out.
Despite the many cases there is never certainty about the identity of the Zodiac Killer. The Zodiac killer claims thirty-seven people have been killed, but the official figure is 'only' seven or nine. The main suspect died of a heart attack before he was able to be indicted. A mystery that still needs a solution, but probably never will. A good choice therefore, to choose this time to focus on the psychological state of the police and other sleuths. 'Blood and gore'-lovers should not bother. That does not mean that there are no gruesome murders sit in (on the contrary), but gorged gluttons or cut prostitutes are not part of this movie.
Fincher said once that he, like the writer and cartoonist Graysmith, had a downright obsession with the serial killer. Se7en is also proof of this. Go see it, you will not be disappointed.