Zodiac (2007)

Synopsis: It is very rare these days for a criminal to kill someone and get away with it. It's even more rare for someone to kill many someones and not only get away with it, but taunt the cops as he's running down the street. Now, I'm not going to suggest that the real happenings of the Zodiac killer is by any means, cool or exciting, but for a film, it made a great story. Robert Graysmith Jake Gyllenhaal is a cartoonist at the San Francisco Chronicle in the 60s and the story begins with his editor getting a letter from the Zodiac killer. From then on, the killings continue with the Zodiac taunting the police through the media. Robert gets more and more involved as the case is stretched out over the years. It is not until when everything looks bleak and everybody has given up on catching this guy, does Robert take action and does the right thing because no one else will.

Should You Watch It? This film isn't about the serial killer. That is, the story isn't focused around him stalking people and killing them. Although this film may be advertised like that, it's really about the characters in the case after the Zodiac killer. When this was going on, everyone was obsessed with this guy, and for a few people, including the ones I mentioned above, it took their lives away. This story is about how the Zodiac killed these people without ever hurting them physically. He tortured everybody involved and this movie shows us how Robert Graysmith gave up everything he had in order to fullfill his obsession and the toll it took on him and his family.

Things to Watch Out For: They say that in order to create a good film, you have to dramatize real life. That is, life itself is naturally boring so you gotta spice it up a bit. But this film doesn't feel very spiced up. In fact, everything they put this film is pretty much real. I mean, they had to cut out parts of course but overall they were able to stick to what really happened and let the story write itself. It just goes to show you how much of an extrodinary tale this was back in the 60s and 70s.

Things You Don't Expect: This film is pretty slow because the whole event took over 6 years to resolve and even then some question whether it was resolved properly. Like I said before, this movie is about the people and media involved in this case and how it ruined their lives. Because that's such a gradual progression, the story may seem very slow and at times, not really connected to the Zodiac at all. Believe me though, it all has a point and if you just stick around long enough, you'll be equally rewarded for your patience.

Final Comments:
Story: 8.6 (Robert Graysmith: book, James Vanderbilt: screen play)
Direction: 8.0 (David Fincher)
Acting: 8.5
Cinematography: 8.0
Music/Sound: 6.0

Entertainment Value: 8.2