The serial killer film has been done to exhaustion, but David Fincher has been the director behind two of my favorites, Zodiac and Se7en. This is mostly because Fincher has brought something new to the game each and every time. Fincher is a master of atmosphere, and with every film he creates the exact mood that is required of the story, including his non-serial killer films such as Fight Club. In Se7en he created a city that was so dark and brooding that when the grisly murders are added it can become unbearable. Zodiac is much more subdued, but the tension here is entirely within the minds of the characters, and their obsession becomes our obsession.
The film begins in the summer of 1969, when we witness the second strike of the Zodiac Killer. This is a sequence which Fincher handles like a master, including the use of “Hurdy Gurdy Man” by Donovan in such a way so that it now joins “Stuck in the Middle With You” as a song I can never listen to again without thinking of deplorable violence. This is the murder of Darlene Ferrin, and the severe wounding of Mike Mageau, who was able to survive. For the rest of the movie Mageau will return from time to time as a witness, for he will be the only one who has gotten a good look at the Zodiac and survived.
Not long after this attack a letter arrives at the San Francisco Chronicle demanding that the letter be published on the front page. Also included with the letter is a cipher which the killer claims will reveal his identity. It doesn’t. Instead it merely teases the police further, and his identity remains a mystery despite the brutal stabbing of two college students near Lake Berryessa (once again the woman died, the male survived), and the shooting of a cab driver right in the heart of downtown San Francisco. The entire city is sent in to a panic, as the Zodiac killer, which he named himself, threatens to shoot down a school bus and “pick off the kiddies as they come running out”. As one reads these letters they are taken inside the mind of a disturbed man. One who needs to kill, and sees the world through sick and twisted eyes. We can only pretend to comprehend what goes on inside his brain.
Weeks, months, and years pass and no one discovers the true identity of the Zodiac. The three main characters here are Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), a cartoonist at the Chronicle, crime reporter Paul Avery (a perfect Robert Downey Jr.), and Inspector Dave Toschi (an equally perfect Mark Ruffalo), who leads the Zodiac investigation for SFPD. Every time the evidence leads one way, they are pushed back another. Names float around, Toschi stating at one point the number of possible suspects is floating around 900.
Eventually the police investigation stalls, a result that does not sit well with Graysmith. This film essentially has two parts: The police investigation, and Graysmith’s investigation. Graysmith has become so obsessed with this case that he keeps notebooks of newspaper articles and evidence. Eventually he decides he wants to solve it himself, and thus begins his quest for the truth. Back at this point there were so many problems associated with finding a criminal such as the Zodiac, including various jurisdictional conflicts between counties and cities. For instance Vallejo would not give information to San Francisco if they felt they were not being equally helped. There lacked any solid DNA tests and forensic science was a fraction of what it is today. If the Zodiac killings happened today, he would have been caught within weeks.
Those going into Zodiac expecting a gorefest will be solely disappointed. In fact, if you go into anything HOPING for a gorefest, I think you should see someone. Here the entirety of the violence is done after the first half hour or so, and the only attacks onscreen in the film are those that were witnessed by others who survived. This leaves room for one of the best police procedurals I’ve seen, mostly because it feels like an actual police procedural. Throughout the entire film, not a single police officer fires a gun. Believe it or not, that is the norm. These officers look at crime scenes, and fight for warrants. The details of this film are impeccable, and this is the first time I felt like I was watching a real police investigation on film.
This film is not about the killer himself, but the psychological impact he had on the San Franciso region. In his letters he claimed responsibility for dozens of murders, but it is likely he only committed five. While killing five people is nothing to snore at, the real calling card of the Zodiac was the need to be recognized by the public. He did not merely want to kill, he wanted everyone to know he was killing, and there was nothing he could do. As a police officer it is a lonely feeling to know there is a madman out there and you have no clue who it is, and that is what Toschi feels right from the start. It became a game to see who could be the one to find the Zodiac.
Eventually this film chooses a suspect and points the finger, providing a climax that is so incredibly muted, yet more satisfying than any shooting would be, and a coda which brings back Mike Mageau. While in real life it is not so clear-cut, this film makes a compelling case. For those with movie A.D.D. this film may seem boring, but for those of us willing to stick through one of the best investigative films out there, we cannot help but be exhilarated. Fincher may be the best visual filmmaker out there, but this film shows that he can most certainly add substance, making him one of the best we’ve got.
No comments:
Post a Comment