***SPOILER ALERT*** (it’s in the history books)
The hard-edged nocturnal dread of David Fincher’s ‘Se7en’ is gone in broad, unblinking daylight dread.
A stark scene of a young couple stabbed fifteen times, shot from beside them on the ground, as they bathe in gorgeous waning sunshine, is beyond horrifying.
It takes a second for the reality of the attack to sink in because it seems so out of place. Set against the rolling verdant hills of Napa Valley, two gorgeous kids are on a picnic, drinking in nature’s bounty, certain a goofy guy who wandered by is going to leave them alone and - boom.
Robert Graysmith is a real life newspaper cartoonist and cryptogram hobbyist. He happened to be working at a San Francisco daily in 1969 when the Zodiac killer struck.
This is what happens.
Someone claiming to have killed the couple (the man survived) sends a taunting letter to the paper, claiming responsibility for those and other unsolved murders. The letter contains cryptograms, using a mix of symbols and ciphers, Greek letters, astrology, weather symbols, and random images like marks on the head of film reels, and a tip – his identity is embedded somewhere inside.
Graysmith, the code enthusiast, solves part of one cryptogram, and an obsession was born. It lasts to this day, and his two books on the subject form the basis of this film.
Fincher uses authentic news footage, articles, crime scenes and other details to add heft to an already information heavy script. Fincher takes occasional artistic flight especially in a terrific time passage sequence, but restrains himself in favor of solid storytelling.
We watch collateral damage pile up around four men involved in the case – two investigators and two newspapermen. The Zodiac’s legacy for them was broken relationships, drug addiction, despair and relentless guilt for not solving the case and apprehending him.
The film requires strict attention. Vanderbilt has jammed so much information into 160 minutes that it’s not wise to look away. Fincher tosses out the gruesome overload of the past, opting to deliver detailed intelligence accrued through years of legwork, efficiently and respectfully. Despite the weight of the information, he brings agility and rhythmic tension for good balance.
The actors give terrific ensemble performances - Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey, Jr. Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Edwards. Brian Cox is magisterial and sly, as lawyer Melvin Belli, who got the Zodiac to phone in to a TV show!
The underrated but hugely talent Elias Koteas plays a cop frustrated by the inability of various law enforcement agencies to co-operate and solve the case.
A strong cast, indeed, augmented by former officers, reporters and survivors who consulted on the film and with the actors.
It seems odd to release a film as good as this on in the lost cause winter months.
The Silence of the Lambs didn’t do so badly back in 1991.
Zodiac
Opens wide USA Mar 2, 2007. MPAA: Rated R for some strong killings, language, drug material and brief sexual images.
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