A recreation, not a dramatization.

Rating: 5/10 (11 November 2013)

Complaints about Zodiac being 'too slow' and laboured compared to David Fincher's other thrillers are not unfounded. Repeated viewings have confirmed that while the story as a whole sticks out in one of the most interesting failed manhunts of the 20th century America, Zodiac suffers from too much technicality and not enough characterization.
The filmmakers spend an economical amount of time with the characters, but we never delve into the psychological framework of their minds the same way we do say, with John Doe in "Seven". Even though he spends 90% if the time off screen, the villain of Fincher's sophomore film was more completely and subtly explored using mise-en-scene. When the detectives explore the killer's labyrinthine network of notes and personal possessions in his hideout, it offers a window into his head and how he must observe the world. A hell-ish, biblical purgatory. In Zodiac, we never get that exploration, not with the villain (who remains true to fact, anonymous) nor the many protagonists. We never get long, quiet scenes lingering over their private lives with their families, never a question into what makes them tick other than the simple basis of what their job entails, as reporters and detectives.
Zodiac moves along at a brisk pace, rarely stopping for reflection or contemplation. It is a simple docudrama recounting of the days stemming from the murders, but it is too lengthy and detached to justify its role as a character study, of which there is little studying to be done. The best scenes in the film are the ones that aren't rushed, but dawdle idly with faint sense of foreboding. The killer is never seen, but the Zodiac's innate and disturbed presence can be felt to hover in purse moments. His identity is maddeningly hinted at, but never confirmed. All Fincher can accomplish is lead suspicion towards certain suspects.
While the first hour has a definite drive with the subsequent murders, once the killer leaves the populace' mind and remains as a mark of obsession on the characters, so does the film slowly leave our interests as viewers. The dead ends and blind alleys are a curious enough recounting of the events, but serve more as a reminder of the failed police procedure of the time and the hindrance in the lack of technological assurance of the 1970s.
Zodiac works better as a warning against future failures of the media and police work, than an effective statement of the era. For all it's pomp and self-assuredness, Zodiac lacks a throbbing heart.