By David Lazenby

dlazenby@cullmantimes.com

Mere days before the start of the year that gave us Woodstock and a man on the moon, a serial killer in San Francisco, who would eventually become known as The Zodiac, began a killing spree, one that was sporadic and seemingly without aim.

In the film, “Zodiac,” the murderer in this true tale plays a bit part; the real horror show here is the loss of life that results from one man’s obsession with catching the killer.

Jake Gyllenhaal (The Day After Tomorrow), who has the kind of nice guy good looks that make him a natural for roles like the one he plays here, portrays Robert Graysmith, a San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist less interested in drawing than he is in the enigmatic killer. Graysmith constantly sits in on newsroom meetings in which the newspaper’s editor (Brian Cox) and a boozy crime beat reporter (Robert Downey Jr.) discuss what to do with a cryptogram the psycho killer insists be published in the paper, using the the threat of more murders to get his way. The naïve artist and the self-destructive writer eventually form an unlikely friendship based on their interest in the criminal.

In the past, director David Fincher (“Se7en”) has excelled in the creation of tense, psychological examinations like “Fight Club.” Here, he seems to be drawing a parallel between two men’s obsessions: The Zodiac’s desire to kill and Graysmith’s desire to figure out a mystery as puzzling as the cipher constructed by the madman.

Another parallel exists between the true story on which the movie is based and the film itself.

Like the Zodiac Killer’s real story, the movie has a dramatic beginning, a drawn out middle (The story line spans over nearly a decade; the movie itself lasts more than two-and-a-half hours) and an ending that is hardly climactic.

The lack of a conclusion to the Zodiac case creates a conundrum for Fincher, who manages to make something out of nothing while preserving the authenticity of the source material.

Despite the shortcomings of the story, this dialogue-driven mystery that has less action than one might expect considering the subject matter is carried on the strength of an excellent ensemble cast. Mark Ruffalo is superb as the irritable detective who becomes the victim of Gyllenhaal’s single-minded character years after the San Francisco Police Department has closed the investigation.

Chloë Sevigny (“Boys Don’t Cry”) also does good work as Gyllenhaal’s love interest, a spurned woman who can’t compete with Graysmith’s real love.

The film also satisfactorily portrays the time period in which the story is set without resorting to clichés like a predictable ‘70s soundtrack or other obvious Me Decade props.

Despite these qualities, “Zodiac” isn’t exactly killer material. However, the film’s flaws aren’t fatal — Patient viewers who enjoy chatty cinema may enjoy the movie, which is certainly smarter than most movies based on serial killers.



David Lazenby is the news editor of The Cullman Times.