"This Is The Zodiac Speaking"

Rating: 7/10 (2 March 2007)

With those five words and with countless threats and baffling cryptograms, a serial killer terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 60s and early 70s. In the thirty-five years since the attacks, the only suspect ever officially named in the case was Arthur Leigh Allen. Yet, recent DNA analysis seems to have eliminated Allen as a suspect. Like Jack the Ripper, the Zodiac's identity remains, to this day ... unknown.
There have been a couple of other films about the Zodiac. But Director David Fincher's thriller is by far the most ambitious and high profile. Based on two books by researcher Robert Graysmith, the film starts off with reenactments of some of the killer's attacks. Most of the film, however, follows three men who were involved in the original investigation: Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), Inspector Toschi (Mark Ruffalo), and reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey, Jr.).
Procedural in style, the film reminds me of "All The President's Men", with its dogged and maddening investigation by unofficial individuals. Here, Graysmith's obsession with the case matches the obsession of Woodward and Bernstein.
"Zodiac" has a big problem with pacing. Suspense is sporadic at best. Too much dialogue, and unnecessary sequences, especially in the film's middle Act, render considerable boredom. Given the film's length, these talky sequences could easily have been edited out.
The film's production design and overall acting quality are good. I could have wished for more late 60's era music. "The Hurdy Gurdy Man" was good, but not enough. Authentic location shots add credibility to the story as non-fiction. The film's cinematography makes use of the new digital "Viper" camera. As such, "Zodiac" is significant in that it becomes the first major movie to be filmed without conventional videotape or film.
A flabby screenplay interferes with what should have been a riveting thriller. Still, if you are interested in this true life crime case, Fincher's "Zodiac" records the lengthy, and futile, search for the infamous killer who still fascinates us, even after all these years. Unless this case is solved quickly, it will soon become a crime legend of historic proportions, every bit as haunting as the legend of Jack the Ripper.