I’ll have my own thoughts on this one up this weekend. I’ve been working on another project all week, and haven’t had a chance to write my review yet.
I’m not even reading these as I post them, because I don’t want to know anyone else’s opinion before I write:
Greetings AICN, this is the MiraJeff speaking. I want you to post this review on the front page of your website. So that David Fincher and Co. can read it and rest a little easier, since I know how much this review will mean to them. Zodiac is a fucking masterpiece. Slap that one right on the poster, Paramount. As if there were any doubt before, Zodiac offers further proof that Fincher is in a class of his own. From the moment the old-school Paramount logo hit the screen (a move that reminded me of Friday the 13th for some reason), I simply knew what I was about to watch was a special film, made by a special filmmaker.
Three things first… of all, I have always been fascinated by the dark realm of serial killers, ever since I thought I would turn into one because I had the same first name as Dahmer. I think I actually asked my mom once when I was little, “do all Jeffrey’s become serial killers when they grow up?” The first R-rated film I ever saw, on my 10th birthday, alone mind you (Mom bought the tix and went to a different one), was Copycat. I’m from Boston (basically) and there was that Tony Curtis movie based on that guy with the strong hands. So it’s no secret that second of all, I think Se7en is one of a few “perfect” films, by which I mean, I wouldn’t change a single word, frame, scene or actor. It is more untouchable than Al Capone as far as I’m concerned. Third of all, I read James Vanderbilt’s page-turner of a screenplay and while I was initially skeptical of any Fincher serial killer written by anyone other than Andrew Kevin Walker, I thought Vanderbilt knocked it out of the park.
It, of course, would be the adaptation of Robert Graysmith’s non-fiction work, a book I hadn’t even heard of until I was flying to Disney World for Spring Break my senior year of high school and saw it in a bookstore and consumed it on the ensuing plane ride. Speaking of consuming, that is exactly what Zodiac is all about; The Zodiac case consuming Graysmith, because really, it got to the point of beyond simply obsession. Graysmith didn’t eat, he didn’t sleep, he didn’t jerk off, and he probably shit his pants pouring over various documents day and night, all because the police were rendered incompetent by jurisdictional issues. If Zodiac is about anything else, it’s the investigation, which is broken down detail by detail in agonizing but spectacular fashion. It’s Fincher’s attention to detail that makes him the cream of the crop. What’s incredibly fascinating about this investigation is the fact that it’s old school. There are no talking computers searching databases for fingerprints and handwriting samples. A case is built one clue at a time, and there was no one better at digging up Zodiac clues than Graysmith.
Speaking of Graysmith, he’s played in the film by Jake Gyllenhaal, an actor I’ve already exalted on this website being a slobbering fan of both Donnie Darko and Brokeback Mountain, go figure. Gyllenhaal really throws himself into the role, kinda like on Dirt, how Holt McClaren kinda pulls his shit together once he’s offered a part in a Fincher film. There’s gotta be this aura or mystique around him, because actors love working for this guy, always turning in solid performances. I mean, Jared Leto, not once but twice, that’s no small feat my friend.
As good as Gyllenhaal is, the film’s ace performance comes courtesy of Robert Downey Jr., who has been stepping it up lately. I mean, there was a period where everyone was really worried about him, and as of late he’s done Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Fur, and soon Iron Man. This guy is picking some good roles in good movies, well, almost there Fur. As Paul Avery, the drunken whiz reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, this guy digs up more dirt than Perez Hilton. He gives the investigation a much-needed sense of humor and though the film is a little long at 2 hrs and 40 mins, it never feels that long because Downey Jr. just commands your attention onscreen.
The third piece of this puzzle is Mark Ruffalo as Dave Toschi, the lead city cop on the case. Ruffalo has always been sharp and I thought he was great again here, with his bathrobes and animal crackers. I’m really looking forward to his pairing with Joaquin Phoenix in Reservation Road. The supporting cast is fantastic from top to bottom, featuring a who’s who of familiar faces including Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Donal Logue, Elias Koteas, James LeGros, Phillip Baker Hall, Dermot Mulroney, Chloe Sevigny, Clea DuVall, Adam Goldberg, Paul Schultze (Chappelle on 24), Zach Grenier (Jack’s boss in Fight Club), John Terry (Jack’s dad on Lost!), John Getz (Gus from Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead !!) and perhaps most importantly, two deliciously creepy turns from John Caroll Lynch (Drew Carey) and Charles Fleischer.
DP Harris Savides does expert work with a new crazy digital camera whose name escapes me at the moment. Some real bang-up camera movements, and yeah, I notice these things more after Children of Men. The film also really captures the general attitude of fear in San Francisco the same way Spike Lee captured Manhattan’s paranoia in Summer of Sam. Fincher makes some amazing soundtrack choices, evoking the period with a spirit and style all his own. The violence is kept to a surprising minimum, but when it strikes, its vicious and jarring, especially a double stabbing by a lake. For some reason the knife always makes me wince more than a gunshot to the face. And, interesting side note, but I was surprised by the lack of swearing in this movie. I guess cops didn’t talk back then like they do on The Wire now. (Side note within a sidenote: I’m finishing season 2 and in love with it right now.) I really can’t say enough about this movie. It is incredible.
As for some random criticisms, I wish Edwards didn’t exit the picture so abruptly, but I’m glad Fincher kept the script’s infamous “baby” line. And I was overjoyed that the second half of the movie didn’t drag at all, in fact, it really succeeded in upping the stakes and drawing out the tension thanks to a suspenseful scene in a house with a basement. I forgot to mention that when I read the script, I couldn’t help but be under whelmed by the extremely anti-climactic ending, which of course, was the only ending appropriate for an unsolved case. However, thanks to the steel-eyed performances of Gyllenhaal and another aforementioned actor, the scene really hits home and we really feel like we’ve completed this journey with Graysmith. It really is a fantastic feeling of accomplishment at the end of this epic film, and you’ll leave the theater on a Fincher contact-high buzz.
And for those of you who are scared off by Zodiac’s lengthy running time, let me put it to you this way. At these “special events” we press are shamelessly bought with free popcorn and soda. Everyone knows that when you get something free, you have to take advantage of it. Well I didn’t eat breakfast or lunch, and I was so into Zodiac that I didn’t have one sip of Coke or one kernel of buttery popcorn the entire time. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. It was like every good mystery should be- impossible to put down. Ladies and gentlemen, if David Fincher can’t, then I hope at least all of you can rest easier now that you know the truth about Zodiac. It is everything you have been waiting for and more. The master has delivered. Here’s to Benjamin Button and beyond.
That’ll do it for me, folks. This is the MiraJeff speaking, signing off until next time. You can email my tip hotline right here.
