A cartoonist hunts for a serial killer

Rating: 8/10 (7 January 2017)

This films tells the story of the hunt for the infamous, who himself 'Zodiac', who has committed a series of murders in Northern California in the late sixties and early seventies. The crimes probably wouldn't have been linked if the killer hadn't contacted the police in each case then written to various newspapers listing his killings, which took place in different jurisdictions. His letter includes a code which he demands to be published. Both the police and the media work to identify the killer and as more letters arrive claiming responsibility for more murders and attempted murders as well as issuing a threat to target school children. As time passes various suspects emerge and are eliminated, largely due to handwriting evidence and there being no match for the fingerprint left at one of the crime scenes. Eventually the trail turns cold, the letters and killings stop and people gradually forget about the case except for Robert Graysmith of the San Francisco Chronicle; not as a reporter but as a cartoonist. Over the years he talks to witnesses and pours through police files until he finds a suspect he is convinced committed the killings.
Director David Fincher did a fine job bringing this real life mystery to the screen It may have helped that all I knew about the case was that it inspired the film 'Dirty Harry' but I was gripped from the start. Thankfully the film doesn't dwell too much on the killings or even the killer; instead in concentrates on those investigating the case; how they go about trying to identify the killer and the effect their work has on their own lives. Jake Gyllenhaal does a fine job as protagonist Robert Graysmith making us believe in his obsession with the case. He is ably supported by Robert Downey Jr. who plays a colleague; Mark Ruffalo who plays the San Francisco detective leading the case and Chloë Sevigny who plays Graysmith's wife. Given that the original case is still officially unsolved there is no cast iron identification of the killer but those wanting resolution will be happy that by the end we are given a prime suspect and it is made clear that most of those involved are convinced of his guilt. There are a few shocking scenes early on and some tense moments later on but there is little that could be considered gratuitous and the film in no way glamourises the crimes or the chief suspect as some films in the genre do. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to people who enjoy a good mystery but don't demand that every loose end is wrapped up.