Zodiac is unfortunately a disappointing fair - at over 150 minutes, the film suffers from under-developed narrative arc...
When it comes to thrillers and twists, David Fincher is the man - he bought us gems like Se7en and Fight Club. But as one says not everyday your attempts are successful, same goes to this veteran. Zodiac is a film with a such a loose narrative and mundane affairs that most of the viewers will feel lost and looped. With over 2 and a half hour long runtime, the film is just a mere documentation of what happened in late 1960's in San Fransisco area. Yes, we need reality in films but sometimes too much dose of the same sucks out all the entertainment factor from a film.
We follow three leads and their lives affected by a serial killer, who apparently call himself 'Zodiac', and who loves sending his plans and plots via letters to SFC newspaper and rather loves ciphers. His killing spree was limited to 5 people (but he says he killed 37, whatever) over a decade and yet all the major characters are rather obsessed for tracking him drown over some 20 years. Isn't that great?
The idea behind Zodiac is certainly something to be applauded - to create film which documents all of this without a single pinch of dramatization. But certainly screenwriter James Vanderbilt took this idea rather too seriously. Characters of Paul Avery (Downey Jr.) and Robert Graysmith (Gyllenhaal) are out of this world - one becomes a drunk just for a threating letter and the other becomes obsessed for tracking the killer down for no apparent reason whatsoever.
However, with all its flaws, it should be admitted that Fincher and his cinematographer know how to create the atmosphere. Specially in the first half, the film's mood is cold and terrifying - one of the best point of the film. The film had some retro tracks which worked quite well with few scenes, but the film didn't had much music to speak of.
In the end, Zodiac is unfortunately a disappointing fair - at over 150 minutes, the film suffers from under-developed narrative arc with unbelievable characters. But if you want, you can give it a try.
However, with all its flaws, it should be admitted that Fincher and his cinematographer know how to create the atmosphere. Specially in the first half, the film's mood is cold and terrifying - one of the best point of the film. The film had some retro tracks which worked quite well with few scenes, but the film didn't had much music to speak of.
In the end, Zodiac is unfortunately a disappointing fair - at over 150 minutes, the film suffers from under-developed narrative arc with unbelievable characters. But if you want, you can give it a try.
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