In Continuum.

Zodiac



"This is the Zodiac speaking..."

That was what the killer said in front of a live broadcast of a talk show when he called in to talk to Melvin Belli, the man he personally requested for help. Even though the call was later found to be a fraud - it came from a mental asylum and was later said to have a voice too high for it to belong t the killer's - it was still a chilling encounter. And like the way the phone call captivated the police as well as the viewers of the show, this movie demanded the same kind of attention throughout its span of 150 minutes. Because in truth, we should all admit that this summer has been an utter disappointment. So forget about crime-busting spiders, ugly ogres trying to save the world, and pirates sailing through the Caribbean. For this is the Zodiac speaking, and he wants you to listen closely.

The movie talks about the infamous killer that terrorized the streets in the late 1960s, all the way through the 1970s - Zodiac. He went around killing random people with his handgun and knife, and even sent letters to the police department to taunt them. As if it wasn't enough, the Zodiac killer also sent a code of some kind to the local publishers, and ordered them to have the cipher printed on the front page of their newspaper, or a dozen more people would die - including school children which e specifically indicated. Despite the high publicity involved in the crimes committed and the investigations that surrounded the case, the Zodiac killer was never caught - much like the killer of JFK. There were numerous suspects named throughout the span of the investigation, but none of them were substantial enough for an arrest. And because of the lack of evidences, so many suspects were questioned and set free, causing the case to be unsolved even till today.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays Robert Graysmith, the cartoonist of the Chronicles who got obsessed initially with just the codes Zodiac sent to his newspaper. With the investigators played out by Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Edwards constantly coming up with new suspects and then losing them due to the lack of evidences, Robert became obsessed with the identity of the killer, the man behind the mask. And throughout the movie, we get to see Robert's slow degradation from a normal family man with a steady job, to a divorced one with nothing but the identity of the killer in his head.

The first impression of anybody when it comes to a movie like that, it probably a simple one. There is a bad guy on the loose, and the police are trying to catch them throughout the movie. And with the clues left intentionally or unintentionally by the killer, the investigators would trace his footsteps until the final hour of the movie when there is a confrontation - the climax. However, this movie is not your average cat-and-mouse movie. Because the actual Zodiac was never caught, the identity of him remains unknown. Therefore, we never really know who the killer really was at the end of the movie when the credits rolled. The high tension of the investigation is not only shown at the very end, but throughout the whole movie from the beginning till the end, tugging at the heart strings and nerves of the audience.

With a director whose resume includes a movie like Se7en, it was quite a surprise to see such an unconventional take on a genre done a million times. As brilliant as the plot for Se7en was, it still was a very conventional cat-and-mouse chase type of film. But in this movie, David Fincher, decided to take on a different approach to the case altogether. He sat down and told a story, bit by bit and in his own time, and slowly revealed to us the murders that occurred in that time and the investigations that followed. The facts were allowed to breathe on screen, and because of the time and patience involved in the details of the crime, one becomes involved in the story despite knowing that we are not going to get a conclusive ending to everything.

For those who are expecting an action-packed movie, you are not going to get it here. Zodiac is pretty much a character driven film with strong dialogue to lay back on and a gripping story to tell. In the first act of the film, we are introduced to the killer and how he mercilessly slaughtered his first few victims. I shouldn't spoil it for the people who are going to watch the film, but let's just say that though the scenes were brief, they were disturbing for some reason. The fact that it was so well planned and so quickly executed, amplified the menace of the Zodiac killer. The killers were especially hard to stomach during the part next to the lake when he first appears in his costume. You will see what I mean if you watch the film yourself.

The second act of the film revolves mostly around the police investigations and the interrogations of the suspect. Every little details from the police case files are explored in this act, and you see the notoriety of the killer shining through as he goes on to taunt the police. You start to see the characters being revealed in this act, and especially the toll it took on various investigators involved in the case.

The third act of the movie revolves mostly around the cartoonist, Robert Graysmith. Because of his avid interest in the case, he contacted the only investigator involved near the end of the 1970s and did his own researches on the identity of the killer. But as mentioned, because of his obsession with the case, his wife left him, bringing with her his children to her mother's house. His life was consumed by the investigations, and was even involved in a really creepy and intense scene in the basement of one of the suspects' friend. Though the director merely wanted us to believe that the man in the basement was the killer, the way he portrayed him was still terrifying. At least you know why Robert bolted for the door towards the end of the scene. The way the light was turned off, and the way the floorboards sank above his head in the basement was just - well, pure Fincher.

Moving away from his usual visual style, this time Fincher took a rather subtle angle on the film. In Fight Club, his style was everywhere to be seen, smelled, felt and heard. Everything from the cinematography, to the special effects, to the music, were the kind of stuff you would expect from a David Fincher film. But you find little of that in this movie, as he tells the story of a killer, shedding his usual fast-paced style of storytelling. It'd be hard to tell that this is a Fincher film if it wasn't for the name at the very beginning of the film. However, it doesn't make it a lesser of a film compared to his other works. If not better, this film is on par with everything else that he has made.

The cast is strong in this one, and a very talented cast at that. Everybody from Mark Ruffalo, to Jake Gyllenhaal, from Brian Cox to Robert Downy Jr, everybody gave a stellar performance in the movie.

So with a strong director like David Fincher, a strong story, a strong acting, what can go wrong with this movie? Nothing. I for one was glued to my seats in the theater, and Ahmad even forgot to drink the cup of soft drink he bought at the counter - not even a sip. It's a sad thing that this movie is only shown in four cinemas throughout the country, mostly because of the fact that Pirates of the Caribbean and Shrek are the two commanding forces at the box office right now. But they failed to see that THIS movie is the gem of the lot, the one that is going to stick with the audience when they get home. But of course, like I said, this movie is not for everybody - simply because of its lack of action and the predominant dialogue scenes. Still, I think this movie is the start to a very good summer - at least for me. With Transformers, Knocked Up, Ocean's Thirteen lined up on my to-watch list, there can't be a better movie than Zodiac to kick things off.

A highly recommended film - though not for everybody. Do check it out, if you have the time. Like I said, forget about Peter Parker, Shrek or Captain Jack Sparrow. They all fell flat in their fields. Listen to Zodiac, and be disturbed. Very, disturbed.