ZODIAC (2007)
David Fincher, at first blush, would seem to be on terra firma with this one; he’s quite cozy with the bloodier and grimier aspects of human affairs. So it is a pleasant surprise to the audience when the focus of Zodiac quickly turns away from the Zodiac killer himself and toward those (police, reporters) who are vexed by him over the years.
That’s a wise choice, since the least attentive in the audience probably know how the policier here ends, or, to be more precise, trails off. By sticking to the facts, but also to the perspective of the lives affected by this (and, thankfully, not the horrible “sign of the times” cliché, trumped out for every Charles Manson story in existence), the film gains a level of suspense that it might not have had. The conclusions seem inevitable even from the beginning–this level of obsession has to have an impact on personal relationships, work, and health–but the roads there aren’t worn, and the journey enjoyable.
Fincher doesn’t completely get there, and at times there seem to be emotional gaps in a film that appears to be exhaustively researched and complete in detail. It is a pretty long film, at two hours forty minutes, but only at times feels that way. And for a heavy subject matter, and a heavy tonal delivery, it doesn’t wear as thin as it might, or could; it is, in the end, a much less tiring film than, say, Seven, or Fight Club.
HDFEST RATING
Overall: B+
Acting: A-
Originality: B
Enjoyability: A-
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