Fincher's finest moment as a filmmaker?

Rating: 9/10 (17 May 2007)

It bugged me to learn that this film was being marketed as "From the man who brought you Se7en", because I knew that it would possibly hurt the film because not only is Se7en a true masterpiece of the thriller genre that may never be eclipsed in our lifetime, but this is a different universe altogether, and a different time.
Forget the shocking thrills, and overall creepiness of the former. This is a film made by a director with complete control of his art, like the steady hand of a painter or sculptor. A measured look at the often forgotten victims of serial killers, the people that had to live with it daily as their lot in life. To add cheap scares or abrupt music-video style editing to such a human drama would greatly diminish the effect of this film. After this film Fincher is no longer just a master of thrills, but a master of storytelling.
The beginning of the film begins in expected fashion. A young couple sitting in lover's lane, gunned down in their car; the first victims (but ones that would have huge value even 20+ years later). From here we move to the life and times of those for whom the Zodiac would become their life, and it is through these eyes that this movie is played out. We see the wide-eyed wonder and utter determination and obsession of Gyllenhall's Graysmith, the cynical and drunken musings of Paul Avery (Downey Jnr was born to play this role) and the slow disintegration of Det Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo's best performance IMO). While the first 1/3 of the film does contain some very graphic and frightening murder scenes, the majority of the film strays away from that to the point where Zodiac is part of the furniture for these guys, and we can see in their frazzled faces (no doubt due to Fincher's meticulous need for perfection which famously rubbed the actors the wrong way).
We're with these guys every step of the way. Every dead-end, every empty alley, every frustrating act of red-tape and bureaucracy. Years pass with a simple fade-to-black, or in one case a time-lapse of the building of the TransAmerica building. While not much "happens" in this film, we are captivated throughout, and while we know what the final result would be it doesn't make the whole experience any less frustrating or heartbreaking. We're in it with these guys, and we feel their pain and frustration, and this is a credit to Fincher, and his need for perfection.
This definitely isn't a film for the Se7en/Fight Club "crowd", but for anyone who enjoys great storytelling and human drama in its most real and naked form, see Zodiac.
Mr Fincher, you've made a lot of believers out there.