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Zodiac, 2007

Zodiac

English

USA

Rating:7.8
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Profile of Zodiac

The mood of Zodiac is bleak, tense, and contemplative. The plot centers around amateur detectives, media, and a whodunit. It is a drama, thriller, and crime movie. In approach, Zodiac is serious and realistic. The pacing is slow. The setting is San Francisco. Zodiac happens in the 1960s. It is drawn from a biography, originally a true story, and based on a book. The movie is known for being critically acclaimed. Note that Zodiac includes strong violent content, drugs/alcohol, and sexual content.

Summary of Zodiac

David Fincher's (FIGHT CLUB, SE7EN) adaptation of the Robert Graysmith book masterfully transports viewers to the Bay Area in the 1960s and '70s by drawing on actual case files from the notoriously unsolved Zodiac killer mystery. As a murderer with seemingly random targets starts sending terrifying threats and cryptic codes to police and publishers all around San Francisco, fear and paranoia descend on the city. Through slow pacing, Fincher creates an effectively chilling atmosphere in which he spins a thick web of character-driven plotlines. Early scenes depicting the Zodiac's first-known murders vividly capture the victim's fear and agony and will leave viewers haunted. When the Zodiac's ciphers arrive at the San Francisco Chronicle, they spark the interest of Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), a young cartoonist with a penchant for puzzles. As the former Boy Scout earnestly tries to decode the messages, eccentric reporter Paul Avery approaches the case from a career-boosting angle. Meanwhile, a string of investigators from four jurisdictions carry on a complex and unsatisfying search for the elusive killer. Inspectors Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and Bill Armstrong (Anthony Edwards) at times collide with Avery and Graysmith, whose interest in the case extends long after most have given up.

Even at two-and-a-half hours in length, this dense murder mystery should manage to keep its audience riveted throughout. Paired with stellar performances from Ruffalo, Downey, Gyllenhaal, and countless others, a clever script produces well-developed characters, and the film's art direction, music, and costumes all combine to create an authentic sense of time and place. The somber tone of the atmospheric thriller gives the film a documentary-like aesthetic at times, lending weight to the story's facts while never relying on cheap tricks. Unlike murder mysteries such as THE BLACK DAHLIA, ZODIAC invites viewers to develop theories of their own, allowing them to come to their own conclusions.

Details

Language: English
Country: USA
Release date: 2 March 2007
Runtime: 157 min

Cast and Crew

Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith in Zodiac
Jake Gyllenhaal

as Robert Graysmith

Robert Downey Jr. as Paul Avery in Zodiac
Robert Downey Jr.

as Paul Avery

Chloë Sevigny as Melanie in Zodiac
Chloë Sevigny

as Melanie

Mark Ruffalo as Inspector David Toschi in Zodiac
Mark Ruffalo

as Inspector David Toschi

Photos

Zodiac (2007)
Zodiac (2007)

Clips

Zodiac
Zodiac: Home Video
Zodiac
Zodiac: Home Video
Zodiac
Zodiac: Official Trailer
Zodiac
Zodiac: Official Trailer

Critics Reviews

Variety
Conveying an astonishing array of information across a long narrative arc while still maintaining dramatic rhythm and tension, this adaptation of Robert Graysmith's bestseller reps by far director David Fincher's most mature and accomplished work.
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Zodiac is the rare serial-killer movie in which the psychosis stems as much from the pursuers (and the filmmaker) as the pursued.

Users Reviews

The film lasts forever
The film is awful! Nothing happens, the guy in the film is not discovering anything. I fall asleep and never watched it to the end. NEVER EVER. Waste of time
Was less about the killer/killings and more about the investigation, the cop(s), the reporters, etc. Still a pretty good story, just not great. If you don't have anything better to watch, give it a look.
Likely to see
Not for me

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