Zodiac 2007
This is an interesting movie about the Zodiac Killer who was at large in California during the early 70’s. The cast is very strong with Jake Gyllenhaal as the main character and overshadowed by the stronger performances of Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey, Jr. I wasn’t that familiar with the Zodiac Killer, so I was able to sit back and be surprised by each turn of events.
In a CSI world where the tiniest shred of evidence seems to automatically result in a conviction, it is amazing that a killer who calls police on the phone and writes his own letters, can somehow elude the police and avoid arrest (no one was ever arrested for the murders). And while that is interesting it itself, a big part of a crime thriller is how the police (or a journalist in this case, actually a cartoonist) are able to put together the evidence and tighten the noose on their suspect.
So the movie is not at all satisfying and you have a whodunit that still leaves you wondering the answer as the credits roll (actually, you will want to read those credits). There are good characters and there is some good cat-and-mouse, but as the clues drag out over the years and nothing much else happens, the movie feels like it has overstayed its welcome. I know that is how it actually happened, but this tight story just unravels by the end.
This is a good movie with parts that are very good, but the sputtering ending really hurts it. B.
Written: 17 Aug 2009