Expertly directed

Rating: 10/10 (23 March 2007)

Incredibly stylish and fantastically directed, this is not Fincher's best only because Fight Club and Se7en are modern classics. It runs a bit long, but certainly doesn't feel two and a half hours, and is fully deserving of its length. It's basically two investigations in one, but it doesn't feel redundant because each character investigates different suspects and different aspects. The transition between the two halves stumbles a bit, but it soon regains form and leads into a great finish. The first half hour or so, basically just introducing the case, is terrific without much character development, but once the characters take over it's a whole other ballgame. As I said before, the only misstep is in the middle, but it's smooth sailing the rest of the way.
The cast ensemble is terrific with Downey Jr. clearly standing out, but Ruffalo, Gyllenhaal and Anthony Edwards (with hair!) are great also. The supporting players, consisting of many character actors, are somewhat underused but just make the cast all the better. I'd love for Downey Jr. to get some Oscar attention - he should have more than just the one nomination - but I wonder if the film is too early in the year. Still, his performance is fantastic - hilarious yet depressing at the same time. He really drives the beginning of the film, and it's too bad that he just fades away in the last half.
Fincher is rapidly becoming one of my favourite directors, with this, the aforementioned classics, and the underrated The Game all under his belt now. The way that pivotal scenes in this film are staged and shot only add to the brilliance of the flick, and make certain moments truly terrifying. From the opening shot, basically a tracking shot from within a car, the cinematography never falters, and scenes like the cab ride, the beach attack, and the time-elapse building are just highlights in a incredibly well-directed film.
It's not a perfect film, but the style is so innovative and the story so involving that it's pretty close. Perhaps some of it could have been edited down, but I really felt like it needed the lengthy running time to completely tell the story of the Zodiac. A great start to the year and a film that's likely to be in my top five at year's end.