The first scene in “Zodiac” follows a car drifting slowly down an angelic suburban street, its homes shadowed by a beautiful array of colorful fireworks exploding in the dark, night sky.
Everything is perfectly safe and inviting, the kind of picturesque setting that epitomizes stereotypical Americana. What follows, however, is neither safe nor inviting, and this drastic, shocking perversion of serenity is the theme that drives “Zodiac.”
The plot, based on a true story, brings into focus the events surrounding the five harrowing Zodiac murders, which took place in the late 1960s in northern California.
Mark Ruffalo stars as the detective trying to crack the case. Robert Downey Jr. plays a journalist whose newspaper is one of many in San Francisco receiving cryptic codes and taunting letters from the killer. Jake Gyllenhaal rounds out the cast as a cartoonist working at the same paper who slowly becomes obsessed with solving the Zodiac’s riddles and, eventually, discovering and publishing his identity.
“Zodiac” is the latest thriller from director David Fincher (“Fight Club”), whose signature style relies on architectural special-effects shots that segue scene into scene. Fincher’s overall visual style is cold and clinical, and this reinforces his control over his films’ often dark subject matter.
Where the movie fails is in its middle act, which drags as the characters stumble toward discovering the killer, only to be discouraged repeatedly by a lack of evidence or false leads. Often, one resolution seems near, only to be trounced by coincidence or misdirection.
As the film progresses, the characters suffer personally and professionally for their determination to catch the Zodiac killer. Although at times the obsessive decay of personal identity works as the movie’s central theme, the sheer length and complexity of the mystery can be trying.
Yet Fincher’s technically brilliant direction makes the film worthwhile by perfectly expressing harrowing scenes of picturesque sweethearts destroyed by a killer’s insanity and the ominous progression of its characters’ obsession to find the truth. In the end, “Zodiac” is a haunting peek into how the Zodiac killer not only destroyed the lives of his victims but also created a wave of fear and obsession that affected the lives of many.
Grade: B