‘This is the Zodiac speaking.’
David Fincher has already proven that he can deliver an outstanding serial killer film with Se7en, which to this day remains one of his best films. But Fincher, like so many Americans, grew up in the late sixties and early seventies surrounded by the news of a real-life serial killer that became the obsession of so many. The Zodiac Killer has to this day never been identified, and whilst the list of suspects has been narrowed it seems unlikely that the true identity will never be uncovered due to a lack of evidence, and too much time having passed. Adapted from Robert Graysmith’s book of the same name, Zodiac is perhaps Fincher’s most overlooked film, and one of his best.
In August 1969 the San Francisco Chronicle received an ominous letter and a cipher from a person claiming to be responsible for the murders of a number of young people in the months prior, referring to themselves by the name of Zodiac. Crime reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) is put to the task of trying to find out as much about the murders as possible, and tracking the developing situation as The Zodiac Killer continues to leave bodies in their wake. Cartoonist at the Chronicle, Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), becomes obsessed with decoding the Zodiac’s cryptic messages and assists Avery in his research of the killer. All whilst SFPD detective Inspector Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) must investigate new murders, question suspects, and maintain the impossible task of keeping the press off the trail as much as possible.
In August 1969 the San Francisco Chronicle received an ominous letter and a cipher from a person claiming to be responsible for the murders of a number of young people in the months prior, referring to themselves by the name of Zodiac. Crime reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) is put to the task of trying to find out as much about the murders as possible, and tracking the developing situation as The Zodiac Killer continues to leave bodies in their wake. Cartoonist at the Chronicle, Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), becomes obsessed with decoding the Zodiac’s cryptic messages and assists Avery in his research of the killer. All whilst SFPD detective Inspector Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) must investigate new murders, question suspects, and maintain the impossible task of keeping the press off the trail as much as possible.
A lot of parallels can be drawn between Se7en and Zodiac. Both films are about serial killers who taunt the police and the press with cryptic messages, believing themselves to be carrying out work of some higher power. Both films are about those pursuing the killer succumbing to the killers’ hypnotic spell, obsessing over them and eventually losing everything that truly mattered to them. But where Zodiac and Se7en differ is not just that Zodiac is based on a true story, but that Zodiac is far less concerned about the actual murders and focuses its sights on the lives affected by The Zodiac Killer, namely Avery, Graysmith, and Toschi.
Zodiac is a long film, clocking in at around two hours and forty minutes, but the entire runtime is chock full of detail. Whilst I will say that the length is my biggest problem with the film (as my attention always begins to wander in the final twenty or so minutes), Fincher has squeezed so much stuff into it that realistically the runtime is about as short as he could possibly have made it without cutting out important details. Even the dialogue moves at a very snappy pace, far quicker than most films, and that’s because there’s so much that needs to be said and had Fincher allowed the dialogue to breathe then I expect the final cut of the film would have been topping three hours.
The three leads deliver some truly great performances though. This is arguably Gyllenhaal’s best performance of his career, nailing that mix between obsessive fan of the killer, and a father who’s concerned for his family’s wellbeing. He’s both quiet and contemplative, and erratically obsessive, being the one who goes on to uncover the most about the killer by uncovering the hidden meanings behind the cryptic messages.
Contrast this to Downey Jr’s arrogant Avery. This was one of the first films post-rehab that Downey Jr. starred in and paved his way to superstardom in the MCU. As is the case with this kind of role, Downey Jr. feels so comfortable in it that it’s hard to tell where the performance ends and the man behind it begins.
Ruffalo meanwhile shows both cold and sensitive sides to his role as Toschi. He’s being pushed quite literally to his breaking point by the press which are both his greatest ally and his worst enemy. He understands that to get to the bottom of who the killer is that he needs the press to play into Zodiac’s games, but that the same time it seems that every step of the way they fumble his investigation for him. Ruffalo brings that perfect energy of frustrated but determined, and you can see the subtleties of his facial expressions saying a lot more than the dialogue does a lot of the time.
Zodiac is a long film, clocking in at around two hours and forty minutes, but the entire runtime is chock full of detail. Whilst I will say that the length is my biggest problem with the film (as my attention always begins to wander in the final twenty or so minutes), Fincher has squeezed so much stuff into it that realistically the runtime is about as short as he could possibly have made it without cutting out important details. Even the dialogue moves at a very snappy pace, far quicker than most films, and that’s because there’s so much that needs to be said and had Fincher allowed the dialogue to breathe then I expect the final cut of the film would have been topping three hours.
The three leads deliver some truly great performances though. This is arguably Gyllenhaal’s best performance of his career, nailing that mix between obsessive fan of the killer, and a father who’s concerned for his family’s wellbeing. He’s both quiet and contemplative, and erratically obsessive, being the one who goes on to uncover the most about the killer by uncovering the hidden meanings behind the cryptic messages.
Contrast this to Downey Jr’s arrogant Avery. This was one of the first films post-rehab that Downey Jr. starred in and paved his way to superstardom in the MCU. As is the case with this kind of role, Downey Jr. feels so comfortable in it that it’s hard to tell where the performance ends and the man behind it begins.
Ruffalo meanwhile shows both cold and sensitive sides to his role as Toschi. He’s being pushed quite literally to his breaking point by the press which are both his greatest ally and his worst enemy. He understands that to get to the bottom of who the killer is that he needs the press to play into Zodiac’s games, but that the same time it seems that every step of the way they fumble his investigation for him. Ruffalo brings that perfect energy of frustrated but determined, and you can see the subtleties of his facial expressions saying a lot more than the dialogue does a lot of the time.
Then comes Fincher’s amazing presentation of Zodiac. Whilst Panic Room may have been the first film where Fincher’s visual style first felt like it was coalescing into something amazing, Zodiac is where he truly shows off what’s capable with this kind of vision on a grand scale. San Francisco has been painstakingly digitally recreated in its 1970’s glory, and even now in 2023 it’s sometimes hard to tell where the set ends and the green screen begins. The set design and costumes are perfect, bathing the film in musty yellows and sterile blues. Accompanied by David Shire’s score, Zodiac sounds just as creepy as it looks, and whilst the film isn’t a horror it exudes terror in its sound design.
Zodiac is an essential watch for any true crime fan. One of the United States’ most notorious serial killers who has never been unmasked, and Fincher dives so deep into the case that it’s honestly surprising he didn’t just churn out a documentary. Obviously, Zodiac takes artistic liberties with the story, and it presents only Graysmith’s version of events seeing as it’s based on his book, but this is about as authentic of an adaptation as you could hope for. This is the beginning of Fincher’s mid-career peak, and whilst it may be a long watch, it’s most certainly worth your time and devotion.
Zodiac is an essential watch for any true crime fan. One of the United States’ most notorious serial killers who has never been unmasked, and Fincher dives so deep into the case that it’s honestly surprising he didn’t just churn out a documentary. Obviously, Zodiac takes artistic liberties with the story, and it presents only Graysmith’s version of events seeing as it’s based on his book, but this is about as authentic of an adaptation as you could hope for. This is the beginning of Fincher’s mid-career peak, and whilst it may be a long watch, it’s most certainly worth your time and devotion.