Zodiac
Rent/Purchase
Over the course of a decade, editors of the San Francisco Chronicle entice themselves in the murders of the Zodiac Killer. However, as time runs its course, interest in the case dwindles in the eyes of the professionals. The Killer stops interacting with the public. However, believing he has the answers, an amateur cartoonist from the initial sightings races against time to prevent what he believes is another murder.
What critics thought
Fincher's procedural epic earned strong critical respect on release and has only grown in stature since, now ranked among the century's best films by multiple major polls — though audiences in 2007 were cooler on it than critics. The central debate is whether its punishing length and refusal to deliver a conventional payoff are virtues or failures: admirers see a rigorous, adult thriller that takes obsession seriously on its own unglamorous terms, while detractors found a shaggy, meandering narrative that mistakes exhaustion for depth.
“very lack of pretense, coupled with a determination to get the facts down with maximum economy and objectivity, gives Zodiac its hard, bright integrity. As a crime saga, newspaper drama, and period piece, it works just fine. As an allegory of life in the information age, it blew my mind.”
Nathan Lee·The Village Voice
“You'll need patience with the film's approach, which follows its main characters by poring over details, and be prepared to put up with a couple of rote family arguments and weary cop conversations, but this gripping character study becomes more agonisingly suspenseful as it gets closer to an answer that can't be confirmed.”
Kim Newman·Empire
“The film gets mired in the inevitable red tape of police investigations”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Mr. Fincher's flair for casting is the major asset of his curiously attenuated return to the serial-killer genre. I keep saying 'curiously' with regard to Mr. Fincher, because I can't really figure out what he is up to in Zodiac – with its two-hour-and-37-minute running time for what struck me as a shaggy-dog narrative.”
Andrew Sarris·The New York Observer
“the tone is pleasingly flat and mundane, evoking the demoralising grind of police work in a pre-feminist, pre-technological era. As such, Zodiac is considerably more adult than both Seven, which salivates over the macabre cat-and-mouse game it plays with the audience, and the macho brinkmanship of Fight Club.”
Graham Fuller·Sight & Sound
Genres
Crime, Drama, Mystery
Cast & Crew
DirectorDavid Fincher
StarringJake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Robert Downey Jr., Chloë Sevigny
ComposerDavid Shire
Zodiac
Over the course of a decade, editors of the San Francisco Chronicle entice themselves in the murders of the Zodiac Killer. However, as time runs its course, interest in the case dwindles in the eyes of the professionals. The Killer stops interacting with the public. However, believing he has the answers, an amateur cartoonist from the initial sightings races against time to prevent what he believes is another murder.
What critics thought
Fincher's procedural epic earned strong critical respect on release and has only grown in stature since, now ranked among the century's best films by multiple major polls — though audiences in 2007 were cooler on it than critics. The central debate is whether its punishing length and refusal to deliver a conventional payoff are virtues or failures: admirers see a rigorous, adult thriller that takes obsession seriously on its own unglamorous terms, while detractors found a shaggy, meandering narrative that mistakes exhaustion for depth.
“very lack of pretense, coupled with a determination to get the facts down with maximum economy and objectivity, gives Zodiac its hard, bright integrity. As a crime saga, newspaper drama, and period piece, it works just fine. As an allegory of life in the information age, it blew my mind.”
Nathan Lee·The Village Voice
“You'll need patience with the film's approach, which follows its main characters by poring over details, and be prepared to put up with a couple of rote family arguments and weary cop conversations, but this gripping character study becomes more agonisingly suspenseful as it gets closer to an answer that can't be confirmed.”
Kim Newman·Empire
“The film gets mired in the inevitable red tape of police investigations”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Mr. Fincher's flair for casting is the major asset of his curiously attenuated return to the serial-killer genre. I keep saying 'curiously' with regard to Mr. Fincher, because I can't really figure out what he is up to in Zodiac – with its two-hour-and-37-minute running time for what struck me as a shaggy-dog narrative.”
Andrew Sarris·The New York Observer
“the tone is pleasingly flat and mundane, evoking the demoralising grind of police work in a pre-feminist, pre-technological era. As such, Zodiac is considerably more adult than both Seven, which salivates over the macabre cat-and-mouse game it plays with the audience, and the macho brinkmanship of Fight Club.”
Graham Fuller·Sight & Sound
Genres
Crime, Drama, Mystery
Cast & Crew
DirectorDavid Fincher
StarringJake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, Robert Downey Jr., Chloë Sevigny
ComposerDavid Shire
Rent/Purchase