Wednesday DVD Review™

I'll quickly note here at the start that neither my wife nor I were educated in this part of U.S. history before the DVD hit the tray - and that was probably for the best. Directed by David Fincher, who also brought us such gems as Fight Club and Se7en, Zodiac depicts the real-life story of a state gripped in fear, uncertainity, and paranoia back in the late 1960s and 1970s. The story's title character is a serial killer who spends years twarting police as he kills multiple people in California. Via letters with homemade cyphers, to phone calls, the Zodiac plays both the police of the era and the media in some sick mental game of hide-and-seek for reasons that people can only speculate to. Important to note that, while directed by Fincher, despite what you'd think the movie is not gory or even more than moderately violent. Instead, the director and staff build an edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller that delivers. The movie has a very talented cast, including Robert Downey and Mark Ruffalo playing very real, believable characters.

The movie is long, over two and a half hours in length, and towards the end it feels that way...but not necessarily in a bad way. Both my wife and I found ourselves litterly getting jumpy as the movie started to climax and reach conclusion, thinking that the answer and identity of the Zodiac was just around the corner. However, throughout the movie we had a common theme that kept running through our heads - of how quaint, or even naive, people and law enforcement of that era were. It was remarkable to see the depictation of how the criminal system worked (or rather didn't) in a world without cell phones, fax machines, or the end-all-be-all Internet. The script was written in such detail that you feel that you are truly following the crime through the years in fast-forward, and become drawn into its ultimate resolution. I think that alone is noteworthy and a true indication of a great thriller.

The visuals and sound for the movie were solid, but nothing necessarily remarkable. No glitch or high tech effects present, nor really warranted. The movie did have the gritty, "old" feel to it in the depiction of the working and living environments of the time. Again, this movie was about the story, and then even more so about the characters behind that story.

Overall, if you enjoy a good thriller, let alone one based on a true event in history, then I'd recommend Zodiac without hesitation. While the replay value of the movie isn't terribly hot (given that it will be hard to develop the emotional ties to the characters as strongly the second time around), it was still worth the price of admission and a spot in my collection.

Next week: 300. I need say no more.

B.