The First Real True Crime Epic... Truly Awesome

Rating: 8/10 (18 March 2007)

In 1969... a man started a crime spree that will forever haunt California and America. He called himself the Zodiac and taunted police officers and newspaper reporters. To this day (2007) he has never been caught and no one can prove his identity. This is the true story of one man's search for the Zodiac from the beginning until today.
Unlike other serial killer stories, this one put the focus on the search rather than the killer. Yes, we have scenes with the Zodiac killing people. Yes, we have the police trying to catch Zodiac. And yes, we have the story of Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) who became a potential target of the Zodiac after insinuating he was a "latent homosexual". But the story is most closely tied to Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist who picks up where Avery and the police left off, putting the puzzle together as his life falls apart. And that is a real human story underneath the murders and sensationalism.
Director David Fincher, best known for "Seven" and "Fight Club", is back in top form here. He gets the right combination of the period piece (several decades are covered) and a hint of the film noir that makes this gritty story all the more dirty and suspenseful. Coming in at just under three hours, he knows how to grab the audience and hold them. How this will fare under repeated viewings I'm not sure (some of the mystery will be gone) but on the first take everything comes out close to perfection.
Robert Downey, Jr. is a great actor. If you haven't seen "The Singing Detective", you should. But also, this film will give you a good sample of his ability to be both a loose cannon and a straight shooter. I actually wish he had been the lead, as I couldn't wait for each chance to see Downey perform. The lead, Jake Gyllenhaal, played a good Graysmith, but he seemed to me too young and fresh. Granted, the real story probably was very much like the way Gyllenhaal played it to be, but I found myself frustrated by having a hero who was so unsure of himself.
Mark Ruffalo, like myself a Wisconsin native, was just as good as Downey. I freely admit I'm not familiar with his work, but here he was great as the animal cracker connoisseur and chief flatfoot. I cannot pinpoint for you what made him great, but I felt this character -- a man whose life was both consumed by the Zodiac while also trying in vain to run from the case.
The supporting cast was wonderful. Elias Koteas (who you know best as Casey Jones from the "Ninja Turtle" films) was a great cop, Clea Duvall was an inmate (and didn't get nearly the screen time she deserves). Adam Goldberg is a reporter (and probably the wrong person to be cast in the role, despite his fine job). Chloe Sevigny was Graysmith's wife, and she really stands out as a great character and actress. I've long admired Sevigny since I first saw her, and as she's aged her choices of roles show she is a determined and focused actress. They are not glamorous parts (she is more plain here than ever before) but really important and strained roles fit only for professionals.
The music here is great for setting the period (Donovan's "Hurley-Gurly Man" is the perfect choice for a theme) and it never seems to be sunny in San Francisco (this is that film noir feeling I mentioned). There is no aspect I can really say stands out as poor.
My one concern, which is no fault of the film's, is how certain characters are strongly suggested to be the Zodiac. As these are real people, and there is no conclusive proof that they were or are the Zodiac, it seems in poor taste and disrespectful to the families to suggest such a thing. But I will not deny that some of the most tense and emotional scenes came when the police or Graysmith were face to face with people who might possibly have been a heartless killer.
See this soon, because if you can it's one you'll want to see in the theater. Worth your time, worth your hard-earned funds, and an experience this epic should only be viewed with the best screen and the best sound. Most home systems simply will not do this one justice. As you can guess, I give this the highest possible recommendation.