Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on Jan 14, 2016 17:31:55 GMT -5
Dir. David Fincher
Premiered March 2, 2007
Growing up, choosing a favorite movie was always impossible; the idea of any one film holding such a close place in my heart seemed unimaginable. Then I saw Zodiac.
Granted, I didn't see it at first. When the poster first showed up at my morning bus stop, a friend lamented that while a movie about the Zodiac killer would be cool, Jake Gyllenhaal's involvement was a guarantee of lameness. To be clear, Gyllenhaal had done plenty of good work; he'd just been nominated for an Oscar for Brokeback Mountain, but the guy just seemed kind of weedy.
I think I first saw the movie a year later on DVD. I was about to move to San Francisco and my mom had ordered it on Netflix. I loved it, and after I moved, my enjoyment of the film only intensified. My issues with Gyllenhaal were completely allayed; not only does he do a great job, but it's much more of an ensemble film. Frankly, it's hard for me to talk about this movie because I have no idea where to start.
At the dark end of the 1960s, a mysterious serial killer known only as Zodiac begins terrorizing Northern California. His talent for coded messages attracts the attention of the local police (such as Dave Toschi, played by Mark Ruffalo), and captures the imagination of puzzle-obsessed cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), whose life is consumed by this mystery even as the rest of the world moves on.
One of the most notable things about his movie is its humor. That may sound strange, but it works for how the story is being told. Most of the cast consists of character actors best known for comedy, and in an era where movies were trying to be as gruesome and grim as possible, this was a huge break for the norm. That's important here especially, because it makes the movie much more lifelike and real. And it's not a cynical or nihilistic sense of humor, it's entire character-based. Mark Ruffalo's interpretation of notorious oddball detective David Toschi in particular is one of the most quietly hilarious characters I've seen in film.
A huge amount of credit for Zodiac goes to its screenwriter, James Vanderbilt. In 2005, Vanderbilt's script was touted as one of the best unproduced scripts in Hollywood, and rightly so, but it's a surprising choice for how subtly unconventional it is. This movie has no three-act structure; that is reserved for the characters themselves, many of whom don't appear for what would have been the first and third acts. For the most part, it's very episodic. It goes down every blind alley, but it contributes so fully to the characters and mood that, although the film is almost three hours long, you never feel like your time is being wasted. The rhythm of the story, combined with the astonishing cinematography, editing, and soundtrack, make every scene count, and succeeds incredibly at setting up suspense and intrigue. While I'm a big fan of David Fincher, he brings a style that borrows from a multitude of classic thrillers and detective stories from the 1960s and 70s and makes it his own.
Looking back, Zodiac being my favorite movie was kind of inevitable. All of my top 5 favorite films were ones I first saw around a certain age, and while other movies from 2007 may be more highly regarded, none of them reach out and grab you like this one. Even after you finish, you can't stop thinking about it, and every time I sit down to watch it again, I notice some new detail that only increases my love for it.
Additional Notes:
Next Time: 300
One of the most notable things about his movie is its humor. That may sound strange, but it works for how the story is being told. Most of the cast consists of character actors best known for comedy, and in an era where movies were trying to be as gruesome and grim as possible, this was a huge break for the norm. That's important here especially, because it makes the movie much more lifelike and real. And it's not a cynical or nihilistic sense of humor, it's entire character-based. Mark Ruffalo's interpretation of notorious oddball detective David Toschi in particular is one of the most quietly hilarious characters I've seen in film.
A huge amount of credit for Zodiac goes to its screenwriter, James Vanderbilt. In 2005, Vanderbilt's script was touted as one of the best unproduced scripts in Hollywood, and rightly so, but it's a surprising choice for how subtly unconventional it is. This movie has no three-act structure; that is reserved for the characters themselves, many of whom don't appear for what would have been the first and third acts. For the most part, it's very episodic. It goes down every blind alley, but it contributes so fully to the characters and mood that, although the film is almost three hours long, you never feel like your time is being wasted. The rhythm of the story, combined with the astonishing cinematography, editing, and soundtrack, make every scene count, and succeeds incredibly at setting up suspense and intrigue. While I'm a big fan of David Fincher, he brings a style that borrows from a multitude of classic thrillers and detective stories from the 1960s and 70s and makes it his own.
Looking back, Zodiac being my favorite movie was kind of inevitable. All of my top 5 favorite films were ones I first saw around a certain age, and while other movies from 2007 may be more highly regarded, none of them reach out and grab you like this one. Even after you finish, you can't stop thinking about it, and every time I sit down to watch it again, I notice some new detail that only increases my love for it.
Additional Notes:
- Sign this was made in 2007: none. In cribbing the style of directors from the period the film is set (such as Don Siegel, Wes Craven, and especially Alan J. Pakula), it manages to be both retro and ahead of its time. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that its visuals were a major influence on Mad Men, which debuted four months after Zodiac came out.
- The montage of Zodiac's letters taking dubious credit for a new string of crimes, set to Sly and the Family Stones "I Want to Take You Higher," the text of the letters interspersed with footage of the police and and newsroom in three dimensions, is a very striking and novel (?) use of visual effects and editing.
- Speaking of which, Zodiac's soundtrack is a masterpiece; comprising a long list of rock and soul classics that, while familiar, are typically overlooked by other films set in this time period.
- One of the most memorable parts of the movie is Charles Fleischer's one-scene wonder, which belongs alongside Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross and Ned Beatty in Network.
- This film does have one flaw. In the beginning, Robert drops his son off at school in what is supposed to be early August.
- Zodiac wasn't the only critically lauded script written by James Vanderbilt in 2005. The other, even more popular at the time, was quite similar, but cut a little too close to home in one very unexpected way. Stay tuned while I discuss that script as well.
Next Time: 300
