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Thread: Zodiac

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Walnut Creek, California

    Zodiac

    Saw Zodiac yesterday and came away reasonably happy. Although the movie focuses on the Jake Gyllenlhaal character, Robert Graysmith, this is really Mark Ruffalo’s (Inspector Toschi’s) movie. Plus there is a really compelling performance by Robert Downey, Jr., as the dissipated crime reporter Paul Avery.

    The movie is really in two parts. The first involves the murders themselves. As the book on which the movie is based was written by Graysmith, it takes a relatively factual viewpoint, focusing on the murders as they take place in various SF Bay Area counties, including the city itself. These are presented in a satisfyingly horrifying manner. They certainly put you on the edge of your seat. During this time frame, the nerdly Graysmith is seen only as a bit player, a newspaper cartoonist and friend of Avery, who has a yen for the Zodiac’s codes. As time passes, and as Avery disintegrates, Graysmith’s interest becomes obsessive.

    So, the second part of the movie is when Graysmith acts upon his monomania and begins trying to solve the case after the police have failed. This part of the movie has an entirely different pace and left me unsatisfied with the movie as a whole. Don’t get me wrong, this is still good theater, it’s just not the same as the crime/police investigation. Graysmith’s motives are not completely clear, as he sacrifices his personal and professional life to write his book and solve the Zodiac mystery.

    There are some revelations here. The move states with some certainty that the Zodiac did not kill all the people a) he claimed or b) the police claimed. Still, the movie makes a pretty compelling case against a specific suspect.

    All in all, I’d recommend this film. It’s not your typical whodunit and it does a nice job explaining why Steve McQueen and Clint Eastwood both mimicked Det. Toschi – McQueen in Bullett and Eastwood in Dirty Harry. The latter is actually based upon the Zodiac murders, though Andy Robinson as the bad guy does not come close to the Zodiac portrayed here.

    It’s fun, which is the best recommendation for a movie, anyway.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    Thanks Jim. A couple people now have told me to check out this film and I will try to see it.

    I have gotten waaay behind on my movies lately. Bad Jason!!

    -Jason "spring means 6 or even 7 days a week of baseball coaching to me, it is hard to keep up with Hollywood" Evans

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Arlington, VA
    Digging this one back up for some important news...

    https://www.sfgate.com/crime/amp/zod...mpression=true

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