zodiac dvd

Zodiac (DVD)

Zodiac (DVD)

158 minutes

July 28, 2007

Chez Verge

Preview: (trailer)

Directed By: David Fincher

Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Jake Gyllenhaal and Mark Ruffalo.

Plot: Based on the Robert Graysmith books about the real life

notorious Zodiac, a serial killer who terrorized San Francisco with a

string of seemingly random murders during the 1960's and 1970's.

(courtesy IMDb.com)

Eagerly awaited in the Verge house, but ultimately long and a little

disappointing. Zodiac is named after the Zodiac Killer, who haunted

the Northern California area in the late '60's. The Zodiac killer

preyed upon young women and couples and sent cryptic letters to

newspapers to attract media attention. Never captured, the Zodiac

Killer communicated through the press until 1974. He was the Son of

Sam before there was a Son of Sam. Many of the same paranoias that

gripped NYC in 1977 were evident in San Francisco a few years earlier.

The movie encompasses the stories of three different characters who's

careers were defined by the Zodiac Killer. Robert Downey Jr, plays a

reporter with the local newspaper whose obsession with capturing the

Zodiac killer leads to his descent into drugs and drink, although he

was already well on his way prior to the Zodiac Killers arrival.

Downey's character is entertaining but troubled. The film never really

tries to explain his story beyond just the surface. Mark Ruffalo

portrays a SFPD detective who can never connect the dots to land their

prime suspect. Every year, on the anniversary of one of the slayings,

he re-visits the scene of the crime that haunts his career. Jake

Gyllenhaal, a cartoonist for the local paper, solves the Zodiac

Killers cypher and takes an unhealthy interest in the case that he is

also unable to solve but ultimately leads to the destruction of his

marriage. Later, Gyllenhall's character writes the definitive best

selling book about the Zodiac Killer.

Zodiac tries to be a who-done-it mystery and a psychological thriller

at the same time. In the end it is neither. At 2 1/2 hours long, the

movies feels as long as the 15+ years it chronicles. Ultimately, the

movie never pays off, the Zodiac Killer is never caught and the ending

just leaves you hanging wishing for a sense of closure. I would

recommend this film if you are looking for a good story, but other

than that, the film is just average and a nice way to fill a Saturday

night.

New rating scale:

6.5 out of 10 boxes of Noodles