zodiac_28

Zodiac

2007

Directed by: David Fincher

Starring:

Jake Gyllenhaal - Robert Graysmith

Robert Downy Jr. - Paul Avery

Mark Ruffalo - Inspector David Toschi

Anthony Edwards - Inspector William Armstrong

Chloe Sevigny - Melanie

Brian Cox - Melvin Belli

John Carroll Lynch - Arthur Leigh Allen

California, late 1960s - a serial killer strikes a young man and woman

parked near a lake. He kills her and seriously injures him. Weeks

later a young couple is stabbed to death near a resevoir. Later a San

Fransisco newspaper gets a letter. In it is detailed the killings and

specific information that only the police would know. The writer

identifies himself as the killer and gives himself the name of Zodiac.

He says he will commit more murders unless they print his letters.

They do so but Zodiac kills anyway, or at least says he does.

Zodiac has a knack for staying a step ahead of the police and the

detective, his partner and the staff at the newspaper rack their

brains trying to piece together the murderer. They make an appeal for

any information leading up the arrest of the Zodiac and they get

hundreds of leads. One though is quite interesting. It leads them to a

man who fit's the bill almost perfectly. He mentions things in the

letters and on top of that carries a Zodiac watch. It however all

"circumstantial" evidence. There just isn't enough linking him to the

crime scenes. The only thing nuttier than this guy is his

squirrel-infested trailer. They find guns but they are all the wrong

types for the crimes.

When Robert Downy Jr `s character (Paul Avery) has a breakdown because

he is targeted by Zodiac, and the detectives pretty much give up on

the case because the killer hasn`t been caught, Robert Greysmith takes

it into his own hands to catch the Zodiac. Will the killer be caught

and brought to justice? Or is Zodiac, like some people believe just

taking credit for crimes he didn't commit? As with any good

who-done-it I make it a habit of not spoiling the ending. What good is

watching or reading a mystery if in your mind the crime is already

solved?

Jake Gyllenhaal's character is genuine enough and you've got to give

his character credit for sticking with it even thought the killer

ominously calls him on the telephone. Robert Downy Jr, is excellent as

the journalist who gets a little too involved with his subject.

From what I've read, most of the night scenes in this movie (and there

are quite a few) where shot on green screens and the backgrounds made

to look like 1970's San Fransisco. If this is the case they certainly

did a good job as I couldn't tell the point where the set ended and

the green screen began. As you may recall 300 did this same thing

except I think Zodiac would be much harder as they are dealing with

intricate city streets and not a featureless background. The story is

based on true events as the cartoonist and make character went on to

write a real-life best selling novel on the murders. The movie itself

does a good job of telling the story from graphic killings - to

portraying the various forms of obsession that inhabit the main