ZODIAC |
In 1969, a serial killer began terrorising San Francisco. Twenty five years and several dead leads later, the case is finally closed. Based on the book by Robert Graysmith. | score 3+ |
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Cast Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jnr, Brian Cox, Chloë Sevigny Director David Fincher Screenwriter James Vanderbilt Country USA Rating / Running Time MA / 158 minutes Australian Release May 2007 Official Site (c) moviereview
2006-2007
ABN 72 775 390 361 |
It’s
1969, the summer of love and a serial killer is loose on the streets of San
Francisco. He writes letters to newspapers, sends them coded ciphers and
generally scares the bejesus out of California. The Zodiac has struck and will
strike again, even though he generally gets what he asks for - curious requests
like an on-air consultation with a TV psychiatrist. Years go by and
periodically Zodiac returns, yet memories are short and the public soon forgets
his terror. All except three men whose lives become permanently entwined in his:
a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, a cartoonist who works on the
paper, and a detective who was originally assigned to track him down. Twenty
five years pass before the case is finally closed. Aside
from a couple of watch-out-behind-you moments, Zodiac is surprisingly tension-free. The director of Fight Club and Se7en has created a slasher film without the slash, a thriller
without the thrills. Fincher seems more interested in character study yet
provides very few access points for us to care about his subjects for very long,
and at nearly three hours we need more sustenance than their high-GI verbal
assault. Less about the hunted than it is about the hunter, Zodiac presents three cases of
obsession. Each party dips in and out of the narrative to reveal a painstaking,
methodical fixation capable of ruining lives. But as leads dissolve and hunches
become herrings, it makes for a frustrating, exhausting experience: thirty
minutes is spent on a lead that goes nowhere. Like a slow if significant day
at work, Zodiac sorely needs a bit
of Fincher’s old-time brutality to spice up the action. // COLIN FRASER |