Good Men Become Obssessed With Finding The Signs Pointing To Answers In Zodiac

We all love a good mystery. Why you think mystery novels, whether they're aimed at adults or youngsters, tend to sell like hot cakes? Mysteries tend to sell well because they offer up all the confusion and uncertainty of everyday life, but typical mystery books/films/TV shows also offer up something life, more often than not, doesn't offer: a tidy conclusion. You get to find out what bad guy committed whatever mystery is driving the plot and his motivations by the end of these mystery tales in sharp contrast to real life where, frequently, those kind of answers are never found. Pieces of mystery based entertainment allow us to indulge in getting the kind of closure on atrocities we may never find in reality.


With David Fincher's 2007 drama thriller Zodiac, the filmmaker adapts James Vanderbilt's screenplay that intends to adapt the real life murder spree of The Zodiac Killer and in the process create a mystery tale that lacks the clear-cut resolution and easy answers of its ilk. The movie itself follows three main characters, two of whom, cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) are situated at the newspaper The San Francisco Chronicle and writer Paul Avery (Robert Dowey Jr) while the third is San Francisco police inspector David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo). The unifying connection between this trio of individuals is that they become embroiled in the murder spree of The Zodiac Killer.

This violent individual has sent multiple letters written in code to The San Francisco Chronicle asking them to be published or else he'll kill more people, piquing the interest of Graysmith (who loves him a good puzzle) and especially Avery who becomes obsessed with the killer. Toschi, meanwhile, becomes similarly engrossed in finding the culprit behind these murders. The investigation stretches out for years and even multiple decades, with dead ends becoming the norm for each of the members of this trio. A killer is loose but they can't seem to corner him and bring him to justice.

Similar to his later 2010 motion picture The Social Network, which looked at the intimate character interactions and tragedies that transpired while one of the biggest websites of all-time occurred, Zodiac also looks at the smaller-scale character-centric pieces that occurred with a larger real-life event as the backdrop. Even in a movie filled with nerve-wracking sequences depicting the real-life Zodiac killer's murderous atrocities, the scariest thing in the movie may be watching good men become enamored in their struggle to get answers that they may never be able to achieve (a theme reflected even in the most clever poster tagline). All three of these characters want closure in a case that very much offers no such thing.

To depict that sort of tragic obsession, you're gonna need three actors who are adept at wringing humanity out of that struggle instead of depicting it in a more one-note light. Luckily, David Fincher (a guy who, even in his very first movie, Alien 3, showed a knack for getting solid performances out of actors like Charles Dance) is in control here and he's got some top-notch talent to headline the movie. Mark Ruffalo brings a sense of sincere dedication to his characters drive to catch the killer while later one playing the part of a more weary experienced disillusioned person with equal measures of success. Jake Gyllenhaal, meanwhile, excels in a role that asks him to portray Robert Graysmith early on as a younger optimistic individual before gradually becoming an obsessive older individual as the story progresses.

Gyllenhaal is able to craft a truly tragic arc with this material through his top-notch performance, which brings small details to the fray (like how he keeps certain physical mannerisms from his early years in the characters older stage) that make Robert Armstrong come to sad life. Robert Downey Jr., meanwhile, is truly skilled at playing quiet tragedy, with Paul Avery becoming consumed by booze and reclusive tendencies as the years wear on. As Zodiac goes on, all three of these actors are required to handle more tragic material in order to show the mental wear the continued existence of this Zodiac Killer brings them and they handle that idea with masterful skill, it's an absolute treat to watch this trio firing on all cylinders here.

Also putting in strong work here is Fincher, who brings the sense of showmanship in depicting scary thrillers from Seven to a number of terrifying sequences in Zodiac that reinforce the chaotic unpredictable nature of the movie. I love how long a number of these scenes go on for, namely a terrifying lakeside encounter and some chilling roadside assistance. The moody atmosphere is allowed to soak in and Fincher keeps teasing the audience with when exactly the carnage will begin, if it will even begin at all. It's the kind of Hitchcockian sequence that had me on pins and needles and is emblematic of the kind of thoughtful terror Zodiac is entirely comprised of. Go into this one expecting plenty of great performances and chills and no easy answers.