Zodiac (2007) Review

 

Zodiac (2007)

Zodiac follows Robert Graysmith and Dave Toschi’s investigation into the Zodiac murders that gripped San Francisco for over half a decade in the 70s. 

In my honest opinion, Zodiac is one of the best movies ever, let alone true crime movies. It’s super detailed deep dive into the infamous murders based on the book by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Robert Graysmith provide an accurate and honest look at the evidence of someone in the thicket of the investigation. David Fincher goes to painstaking lengths to show the confusion and many reasons why the case is still unsolved over 50 years later, throwing in misdirections to multiple suspects (one of which is terrifying), showcasing the lack of communication of information between the multiple police departments involved, and even changing the person portraying Zodiac in each of his screen appearances in the film (none of which are actor John Carrol Lynch, the most likely suspect presented). 

The movie is rightfully terrifying but that’s because it feels so real, acting as an accurate period piece, while also being remarkably true to the real life events. His incessant taunting, brutal murders, and the eeriness every time he sends a letter or appears on screen is downright scary because for once, a compelling, nameless villain isn’t just some fictitious creation. And while there is a conclusion presented for the people in the film, the movie does do an excellent job of leaving the killer’s true identity a secret, just as it is in reality. 

We get a spectacular cast starring Anthony Edwards, Chloë Sevigny, John Carrol Lynch, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, and Jake Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal really encapsulates the obsessive nature that the real Graysmith had, even costing him his marriage, acting as a crucial, more innocent element to such a dark movie. This is also one of the best of Ruffalo’s career, with him bringing a world-weary exhaustion that such a monumental unsolved case brings. 

Zodiac, directed by David Fincher (in what I feel is the best movie of his career), is a thrilling and frightening depiction of real life events that leaves you with just as many questions as it gives answers, faithfully recreating the tense, years long standoff between the SF Chronicle, the SFPD, and the elusive Zodiac killer. 

10/10