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Movie Review: Zodiac

by Jeanne on January 10th, 2008

Zodiac (2007) is a crime/drama/thriller based on Robert Graysmith’s books about the real-life serial killer, known as Zodiac, who terrorized San Francisco with a string of seemingly random murders during the 1960s and 1970s.

First of all, I have to give major recognition to Robert Downey Jr.  I have loved him for years and I have been in his corner through his decidedly bad times and I am thrilled that he is on his way to reclaiming the career he should have always had.  He was brilliant in this movie and I have high hopes for Iron Man (even though I realize that the depth of that movie is different from the one I’m currently reviewing).

Okay, back to my review.

More after the jump.  Warning, spoilers ahead!

The movie begins with a song from the musical Hair (I believe) - "Easy to Be Hard."  It was a nice touch, an attention grabbing preview of what was to come.  And then we have it.  The first murder scene and the female victim appears to know the scary man in the car.  Why doesn’t she drive away?  Like the opening song suggests - it’s hard for us to believe people can be so heartless. 

This murder leads to more killings and, eventually, letters containing ciphers sent to local newspapers.  This is a pattern that continues throughout the film, for the most part.  Robert Downey Jr. plays Paul Avery, a reporter who writes almost exclusively about Zodiac.  Then you have Robert Graysmith who serves as the newspaper’s almost-too-perfect cartoonist.  Eventually, this odd pair end up privately working together on the Zodiac case (until, sadly, Avery’s descent) while the higher-ups at the paper attempt to make sense of it all.  At the same time, two younger detectives, David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and William Armstrong (Anthony Edwards) work the case from an official police perspective, often clashing with their own supervisors.

What is striking, however, are the parallels between these two pairs and how the older characters proceed.  In the newsroom, Zodiac’s letters are passed around to anyone who wants to see them and the accompanying ciphers are treated as though they can never be solved.  When the young detectives arrive, they make a point of mentioning that the letters have been handled by so many people that any fingerprints belonging to the killer could be impossible to find.  Meanwhile, Graysmith’s enthusiasm and optimism about solving the case also clashes with the defeatist attitudes of his seniors.  Additionally, there seems to be an unwillingness within the older generation to think outside the box - one handwriting specialist claimed that people cannot possibly be ambidextrous enough to write letters with both hands, for example.  Of course, we look at handwriting differently today but they were holding on to those theories at that time which may have ultimately, really hurt the case.  All of this is to say that the director makes a point of dividing those investigating the case into two parties based on generation and it was intriguing to see how this played out.

There are curious little details that add realism and dimension to the film.  Funny moments like Graysmith’s son swallowing the toothpaste because it "tasted minty" or Graysmith asking an older male if it upset him when people called him "shorty" to which the man replies, "no, does it bother you when people call you retard?"  Then there’s Toschi’s food moments.  His partner, Armstrong, always brings him animal crackers and later allows Toschi to take his lunch when they meet at a diner.  Then, when Graysmith wants to talk to Toschi, he offers to buy him lunch but finally, when Graysmith basically proves that Toschi’s theory about the killer had been right all along at a later meal, we finally see Toschi pay for food.  It’s significant, even if you don’t completely know why.

Interestingly, this movie reminded me of Se7en (1995) and it turns out that it they were both directed by David Fincher.  It’s a stop and start type of movie since it climaxes and recedes several times but it’s very well done.  You’ll think you have it figured out and then it will start all over again. 

This movie is definitely worth seeing.  I’ve given it 4.5 out of 5 Geckos but here’s a look at how it has been rated elsewhere (click on the links to read their reviews):

• Roger Ebert - 4/4 Stars
• Entertainment Weekly - A
• Rotten Tomatoes - 89% (critics), 91% (users)
• IMDb User rating: 7.9/10

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POSTED IN: Film Genres, Crime, Thriller, Drama, Now on DVD, Film Reviews