As the citizens of the small California town of Vallejo prepare for their holiday celebrations, the discovery that two teens have been viciously gunned down at a remote lover's lane leaves the citizens of a once tight-knit community fearing for their lives. In the months that follow the brutal crimes, Vallejo police inspector Matt Parish devotes his entire existence to revealing the identity of the elusive killer and ensuring that no more innocent lives are taken. With pressure from both his superiors and the local press mounting, lack of sufficient evidence and increased tensions at home lead Inspector Parish down a series of frustrating dead-end roads. When the killer strikes yet again, this time shooting a young couple in a darkened parking lot, investigators are shocked to receive a phone call from a man confessing to the crime. A letter sent to the local newspapers by the confessed killer states that if it is not published, a dozen more people will die in the coming weekend. Even more curious, the letter contains a mysterious code that, if deciphered correctly, will supposedly reveal the true identity of the man behind these shocking crimes. Though a suspect is questioned following yet another killing, this time in broad daylight, the frustrated police department fails to make an arrest as the elusive killer continues to taunt both the police and the media with a series of menacing letters.

Based on the true story of one of the most intriguing unsolved crimes in American history and the book by Robert Graysmith.

The thing is that if you no anything about the history of the zodiac killer you know exactly where the movie is going, as one of the more famous facts about the Zodiac is that he was never caught. So the movie becomes less about the Zodiac killer and more about a newspaper cartoonist Robert Graysmith who is obsessed beyond reason of figuring out who the man is. The problem with that is it leads the movie into periods where nothing is really happening and you find yourself drifting away from the story as nothing is being accomplished and the movie is going nowhere. Much like the detectives that tried to figure out who the Zodiac was you find yourself trying to figure out where the movie is trying to go an what will be the endgame eventually. The movie is good, it is interesting and it can be intriguing and enthralling but at the same time it can be tedious and lead to boredom as years pass and Graysmith is the only left who is actually trying to figure out who the Zodiac was.

Its surprising to find out this film clocked in over three hours in the original cut. The two and half that it takes to unfold on the screen already seems 45 minutes to long and an extra half hour might have made the movie unbearable. I have been quite a fan of David Fincher’s for a number of years but if you were expecting Seven or Fight Club you will be sorely disappointed. The movie doesn’t have his action paced tempo of his earlier films, it doesn’t seem to be leading up to any big event either at times. It’s like Fincher wanted to do something that was unlike anything he had ever done before, a slow drama with little to no action and at times it works and at other times it leads to a sense of boredom. We have become a society that excepts a faster tempo and knowing that they never caught the Zodiac leaves you flailing in the wind at times.

Jake Gyllenhaal is one of my more favorite young actors even though his characters don’t have that much range in how he portrays them. When he took a chance and finally branched out last year with Brokeback Mountain he ended up also taking a lot of backlash from the homophobic groups in society. He has this boyish charm that seems to fit a lot of his characters. Like he is the guy next door, the cartoonist who becomes obsessed with a serial killer and lets it take overs his life it lends to a sense of believability in him as that character. Robert Downey Jr is another underrated actor who fills in nicely as the counterpart to Jake, as the more rough around the edges and scruffier reported who befriends Jake because of his insights into the case. The movie is worth the watch but may be better viewed at home on the couch rather than in a theatre.

Grade: C+