Zodiac (2007)

"There's more than one way to lose your life to a killer"

Directed by David Fincher
Produced by Ceán Chaffin, Brad Fischer, Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer, James Vanderbilt
Screenplay by James Vanderbilt
Based on "Zodiac" by Robert Graysmith
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Edwards, Brian Cox, Elias Koteas, Donal Logue, John Carroll Lynch, Dermot Mulroney
Music by David Shire
Cinematography: Harris Savides
Edited by Angus Wall
Production companies: Phoenix Pictures, Road Rebel
Distributed by Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros.
Release date: 2 March 2007 (Canada)
Running time: 157 minutes; 162 minutes (Director's Cut)
Country: United States
Budget: $65 million
Box office: $84.8 million

"Zodiac" is a mystery crime drama film directed by David Fincher and based on Robert Graysmith's non-fiction book of the same name. The story is about the manhunt for a notorious serial killer who called himself the "Zodiac" who killed in and around the San Francisco Bay Area during the late 1960s and early 1970s, leaving several victims in his wake and taunting police with letters, blood stained clothing, and ciphers mailed to newspapers. Did somebody actually solve th case?

Cast

• Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith
• Mark Ruffalo as SFPD Inspector Dave Toschi
• Robert Downey, Jr. as Paul Avery
• Anthony Edwards as SFPD Inspector William Armstrong
• Brian Cox as Melvin Belli
• John Carroll Lynch as Arthur Leigh Allen
• Richmond Arquette as Zodiac 1 / Zodiac 2
• Bob Stephenson as Zodiac 3
• John Lacy as Zodiac 4
• Ed Setrakian as Al Hyman
• Chloë Sevigny as Melanie Graysmith
• Elias Koteas as Sgt. Jack Mulanax
• Dermot Mulroney as Captain Marty Lee
• Donal Logue as Ken Narlow
• Candy Clark as Carol Fisher
• John Getz as Templeton Peck
• John Terry as Charles Thieriot
• Philip Baker Hall as Sherwood Morrill
• Adam Goldberg as Duffy Jennings
• Zach Grenier as Mel Nicolai
• Ciara Hughes as Darlene Ferrin
• Jimmi Simpson as Michael Mageau
• Lee Norris as young Michael Mageau
• Pell James as Cecelia Shepard
• Patrick Scott Lewis as Bryan Hartnell
• James LeGros as Officer George Bawart
• Charles Fleischer as Bob Vaughn
• Clea DuVall as Linda del Buono
• June Diane Raphael as Mrs. Toschi
• Paul Schulze as Sandy Panzarella
• Joel Bissonnette as Inspector Kracke
• Tom Verica as Jim Dunbar
• John Hemphill as Donald Cheney
• James Carraway as Shorty
• Matt Winston as John Allen
• Jules Bruff as Catherine Allen
• John Ennis as Terry Pascoe

David Fincher ("Fight Club", "Gone Girl") is my second director whose all directorial filmography I've already seen (the first one is Quentin Tarantino). I love his captivating style that holds till the end of his works while hate him for his ability to awake fear that upsets my routine which, however, is the advantage at the same time. And "Zodiac" is one of his best films, in my opinion, that I can rewatch many times.

As for the cast, it's full of my favourite actors. Jake Gyllenhaal as an ambitious political cartoonist looks so impressive. His character fully devotes his life and even himself to this mysterious case but can't obtain justice, unfortunately. And Jake excellently coped with his part. Robert Downey Jr. is famous for his eccentric roles like Tony Stark - and Paul Avery isn't the exception. For quite some time now I found that I've watched quite many films with Mark Ruffalo - "Begin Again", "Foxcatcher", "Shutter Island", "Avengers: Age of Ultron", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and others. So I think he may be classed among my favourite actors because his acting results very well.

Advantages

• Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith
• Mark Ruffalo as SFPD Inspector Dave Toschi
• Robert Downey, Jr. as Paul Avery
• David Fincher
• The twisted plot

Disadvantages

• The open-ended film

"Strangenesses"

• Who is guilty?

Clue Moments

• Solving crosswords puzzle
• Murders

According to Wiki, the Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The killer's identity remains unknown. The Zodiac murdered victims in Benicia, Vallejo, Lake Berryessa, and San Francisco between December 1968 and October 1969. Four men and three women between the ages of 16 and 29 were targeted. The killer originated the name "Zodiac" in an August 7, 1969 letter to the local Bay Area press, which was just one in a series of taunting letters. These letters included four cryptograms (or ciphers). Of the four cryptograms sent, only one has been definitively solved.

Suspects have been named by law enforcement and amateur investigators, but no conclusive evidence has surfaced. In April 2004, the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) marked the case "inactive", yet re-opened the case at some point prior to March 2007. The case also remains open in the city of Vallejo, as well as in Napa County and Solano County. The California Department of Justice has maintained an open case file on the Zodiac murders since 1969.

Soundtracks

1. Three Dog Night - Easy To Be Hard
2. The Animals feat. Eric Burdon - Sky Pilot
3. Carlos Santana - Soul Sacrifice
4. The Four Tops - Bernadette
5. Lynn Anderson - (I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden
6. Sly feat. The Family Stone - I Want To Take You Higher
7. Isaac Hayes - Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic
8. Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
9. Stories - Brother Louie
10. Donovan - Hurdy Gurdy Man
11. Johnny Mathis - It's Not For Me To Say
12. John Coltrane - Mary's Blues
13. Miles Davis - Solar
14. The Sound Of The City - Johnny Mann Singers

Quotations

* * *

Dave Toschi: Hey, how do we know that this lead is real?
Inspector William Armstrong: It's very real. How do I know? Because I saw it on TV.

* * *

Arthur Leigh Allen: I am not the Zodiac. And if I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you.

* * *

Paul Avery: Well, it looks like the real Zodiac Killer... was friendship

* * *

Robert Graysmith: Paul, are you okay?
Paul Avery: No... but thanks for asking.

* * *

Robert Graysmith: Just because you can't prove it doesn't mean it isn't true.
Dave Toschi: Easy, Dirty Harry.

* * *

Arthur Leigh Allen: Oh. "The Most Dangerous Game."
Inspector William Armstrong: What?
Arthur Leigh Allen: "The Most Dangerous Game." That's why you're here isn't it? It was my favorite book in high school. It's about this man who waits for these people to get shipwrecked on this island. Because he was tired of hunting animals, he hunted the people for the challenge.
Dave Toschi: And man is the most dangerous animal of all?
Arthur Leigh Allen: That's the whole point of the story.

* * *

Robert Graysmith: I just want to help.
Ken Narlow: What are you, some kind of boy scout?
Robert Graysmith: Eagle Scout, actually... First class.

* * *

Melvin Belli: Inspectors, he sent this letter directly to my residence. It is a cry for help intended as a private communique.
Dave Toschi: Which is why you contacted The Chronicle.
Melvin Belli: The people have a right to know. Toddy?

* * *

"Suspect": I'm the Zodiac.
Inspector William Armstrong: And how did you kill your victims?
"Suspect": With a gun. No... with a hammer.

* * *

Robert Graysmith: I knew it! "Man is the most dangerous animal of all." I knew that I heard that from somewhere before. "The Most Dangerous Game."
Paul Avery: The most what?
Robert Graysmith: It's a movie about a count who hunts people for sport. People. "The Most Dangerous Game."
Paul Avery: Who's that?
Robert Graysmith: That's Count Zaroff.
Paul Avery: Zaroff? With a Z?

* * *

Robert Graysmith: [reading] I like killing people because it is so much fun. It is more fun than killing wild game in the forest, because man is the most dangerous animal of all. To kill something is the most thrilling experience. It is even better than getting your rocks off with a girl. The best part of it is that when I die, I will be reborn in paradise and all that I have killed will become my slaves. I will not give you my name because you will try to slow down or stop my collecting of slaves for my afterlife.

* * *

Paul Avery: So Robert, what are your hobbies?
Robert Graysmith: Well, I like to read.
Paul Avery: Uh-huh.
Robert Graysmith: Uh, I enjoy books.
Paul Avery: Those are the same things.

* * *

You may see the trailer here.

Plot: 9/10

Entertainment: 9/10

Acting: 8/10

Originality: 8/10

Music and Sound: 9/10

9/10