Director: David Fincher
Writer: James Vanderbilt
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo
The only film of Fincher that I have ever watched before is
the Social Network and this was long before I likely should have and I have
never even watched it all the way through. Going into this with a relatively
tiny amount of Fincher experience, I somewhat enjoyed it.
The often explored, notorious serial killer, Zodiac, has his story told through fragmented chronological newspaper and crime story.
This film spans many, many years of investigation and I really enjoy the way in which the film shows the passage of time. In one of the earliest shots of San Francisco, a motorway is shown that was destroyed in an earthquake in the 1980s. This tells the keenest viewers the context of both time and place. This is not the only time this happens. At about the middle of the film. There is a time-lapse shot of the Transamerica Pyramid being built. For the few that know the year in which the building was erected, this is both an attractive and attentive shot that stood out in the film.
Unfortunately, this film is unnecessarily long. Some films can pull off the extended run time due to their pacing and constant intrigue. While much of the movie certainly achieves this, the second act is more repetitive than a smoking addiction (everyone in this film seems to smoke except for Jake Gyllenhaal). The Zodiac sends in numerous letters attempting to instil hysteria into the San Francisco populous. The second act consists mostly of the police attempting to fins a match to the handwriting found on the received letters. I found myself so thankful to get into the Gyllenhaal-centric third act.
The said third act was incredibly interesting seeing how the characters evolve with the sequences that occur. This act is far creepier than the preceding two. I don’t want to divulge too much upon the happenings of the final part of the film but I will say that it is when a lot of time is passed and a lot of ground is made upon the Zodiac investigation (which is very interesting).
This film has an exciting start and finish but heavily plateaus in the middle. It becomes noticeably boring but is held up by the excellently smart and attractive shots that kept me engaged and Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance is gripping and intriguing. Despite boredom valley being existent, I would say that I was entertained but not for the entire duration.
Zodiac receives a: 7/10
The often explored, notorious serial killer, Zodiac, has his story told through fragmented chronological newspaper and crime story.
This film spans many, many years of investigation and I really enjoy the way in which the film shows the passage of time. In one of the earliest shots of San Francisco, a motorway is shown that was destroyed in an earthquake in the 1980s. This tells the keenest viewers the context of both time and place. This is not the only time this happens. At about the middle of the film. There is a time-lapse shot of the Transamerica Pyramid being built. For the few that know the year in which the building was erected, this is both an attractive and attentive shot that stood out in the film.
Unfortunately, this film is unnecessarily long. Some films can pull off the extended run time due to their pacing and constant intrigue. While much of the movie certainly achieves this, the second act is more repetitive than a smoking addiction (everyone in this film seems to smoke except for Jake Gyllenhaal). The Zodiac sends in numerous letters attempting to instil hysteria into the San Francisco populous. The second act consists mostly of the police attempting to fins a match to the handwriting found on the received letters. I found myself so thankful to get into the Gyllenhaal-centric third act.
The said third act was incredibly interesting seeing how the characters evolve with the sequences that occur. This act is far creepier than the preceding two. I don’t want to divulge too much upon the happenings of the final part of the film but I will say that it is when a lot of time is passed and a lot of ground is made upon the Zodiac investigation (which is very interesting).
This film has an exciting start and finish but heavily plateaus in the middle. It becomes noticeably boring but is held up by the excellently smart and attractive shots that kept me engaged and Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance is gripping and intriguing. Despite boredom valley being existent, I would say that I was entertained but not for the entire duration.
Zodiac receives a: 7/10
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