Fincher goes 70's

Rating: 9/10 (2 October 2007)

Now I would like to take the Mark Kermode route of reviewing. He always states: "you should go into every movie with an open mind". Now I frankly find that impossible. I'll always have bias towards certain movies. Despite generally negative reviews, I still insisted the Spider-Man 3 would kick ass. It sucked. I avoided Dreamgirls and the Devil Wears Prada due to the fact that they were chick-flicks. Both turned out to pretty damn good.
Now there is a point here. I am a MASSIVE fan of David Fincher, I even think Alien 3, a movie which Fincher himself has disowned, isn't that bad. Se7en is one of the greatest serial killer movies ever and Fight Club, his masterpiece, is just a great great Great film. The Game and Panic Room, although fitting neatly into the constraints of their chosen genres, are damn fine movies. So to say I could go into Zodiac, one of my most eagerly awaited movies of this year, with an open mind, was gonna be a feat more mammoth than Tony Blair's spin Doctor's keeping him popular. I sat down with my girlfriend, turned on the T.V. sat back and watched.
But as I was watching, I noticed something. Now it does fit all the Fincher trademarks: every single detail is in frame, each frame is beautifully shot, etcbut, after such a long wait for a new Fincher movie (Panic Room was WAY back in 2002), it almost didn't seem like a Fincher movie almost as much as it did. It was much more. It was a very Mature picture (note the capital M). There's no Tyler Durden spewing his anti-corporate bilge, no Jodie Foster looking shocked and menaced, what there is, is a meticulously planned and expertly executed police drama. Some American critics criticised it for it's lack of action and lack of focus on the murder scenes. This really isn't that kind of movie. If anything it's a character study in the guise of a detective story. By the end of the movie we know each character in and out, their flaws, their motivation, what makes them tick and what scares them. It all just so happens to culminate during the time the Zodiac was active.
But it is also a detective story and a terrific one at that! It's so compelling, going from the actual investigation itself to Graysmith's obsession towards the end. As is Fincher's style, he studied each character and every inch of the case for years prior to filming. And it shows. The investigative scenes have never been this good since the days of Serpico and Dirty Harry. It may be 40years passed but this looks every bit as 60's/70's as the movies of that era. It echoes Dirty Harry, The French Connection and all those in between.
In so many words, this is up there with the great films of this decade let alone the year. Along with the likes of United 93, Million Dollar Baby and City of God, this is a modern classic. I knew I wouldn't be disappointed but I was in awe of this picture. They should only allow a few select directors make movies and if Fincher churns out movies like this from now on I would be a very happy film-goer. This is sheer brilliance, a masterpiece, a crowning achievement of film making that can rarely duplicated.
5/5