obsession that is zodiac

The Obsession that is Zodiac

In my Out of the Late Winter Slump blog, I talked about Zodiac, saying

that "even though this looks like a run-of-the-mill serial killer

film, it is directed by David Fincher (the man behind Fight Club and

Seven). That name alone makes me interested." And now that I've seen

it, I must say that if you're a fan of David Fincher. See. This.

Movie.

Looks can be deceiving, though. The trailers make this film look like

some high suspense thriller, but it's not. It's an intelligent,

intriguing study of obsession. Not the obsession of a faceless serial

killer, but the obsession of the three men trying to find him is what

this story truly revolves around.

First, there's Inspector David Toschi, played by Mark Ruffalo, an SFPD

officer who gets so wrapped up in finding this man that he visits one

of the crime scenes every year. When Toschi finds the man he's sure to

be Zodiac, he looks for any way to get the warrants he needs to bring

him to trial. But when Toschi, his partner, (played by the quietly

wonderful Anthony Edwards), and a host of other policemen can't find

enough proof, the devastation on the detective's face is utterly

heartbreaking.

The second obsessive player is Robert Downey, Jr's crime reporter Paul

Avery. Avery, at first, is simply interested in a good story, but

quickly he finds himself chasing leads and corrupting evidence in

order to get his answers. From now until eternity, Downey Jr. will

always be typecasted as the addict, but I must say, he does play it so

well. His Avery is equally cynical and intellectual, as well as

dysfunctional and amusing.

The third--and most intriguing--obsessed man is Robert Graysmith (Jake

Gyllenhaal). Graysmith is a cartoonist for The San Francisco Chronicle

who goes from mere interest in the Zodiac's codes to all out unhealthy

craving for the truth. He begins as a timid man who looms over Avery's

desk to being Avery's go-to guy for working out the details of

Zodiac's mysteriousness. As years pass, Avery and Toschi soon find an

acceptable peace with the unsolved case, but Graysmith can't let it

go. Even if he can't arrest the Zodiac, he must know who is behind the

illusive killer.

The story of these three men, especially Graysmith (upon whose book

the film is based), is what grabs you when you see this movie, not the

murder scenes. You're along for the ride with these guys, half hoping

they'll find who they're looking for, and half hoping they stop before

it ruins them for good.

If you're looking for a happy ending, you're not going to get it here.

There's no made-up-for-the-movies ending where the cops catch the bad

guy just as he's about to allude them for the umpteenth time. (Sorry

if I ruined anything for you, but history will tell you that the

Zodiac case is still unsolved.) What you will get from Zodiac is a