Zodiac is a film based on real events regarding a serial killer dubbed The Zodiac. The presentation of the film is drawn from the book by Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist that became obsessed with identifying The Zodiac. He is portrayed in the movie by Jake Gyllenhaal.

Robert Downey, Jr. plays Paul Avery, a reporter involved in covering The Zodiac. Mark Ruffalo is the main detective in charge of capturing The Zodiac. Chloe Sevigny plays Graysmith’s stressed out but ultimately supportive wife. John Carroll Lynch plays the main suspect for The Zodiac.

The film is directed by David Fincher. Fincher’s previous directorial contributions include Seven and Fight Club. Given Fincher’s past works, I expected the delivery of Zodiac to be dark and surreal. It is quite dark and at times quite surreal. The first scenes of some of the murders are unflinchingly brutal. They aren’t gory; just terribly disturbing.

But with the events in the film being based upon actual events, I think Zodiac lacks some of the surrealism of films like Seven and Fight Club that make them so great. The characters in the latter films seem to have stronger, more defined personalities. But perhaps that is only because I’ve watched them over a dozen times each.

Nevertheless, the film is excellent. The characters are easy to identify with and are quite likeable. There are several intense scenes that will have your squirming with anticipation. The story grabs a hold of you and doesn’t let go.

I was most fascinated by some of the actions in the films that most people wouldn’t dare to do today knowing what is known about typical ways in which crimes are committed. One character stops her car when another car flashes its lights at her, then allows the person in the other car to adjust her supposedly loose tire. Another example is when Graysmith goes to meet someone about the identity of The Zodiac, he suggests going to a nearby coffee house. The source instead suggests they go back to his house, and Graysmith agrees, foregoing the well-lit public place in lieu of an unknown private residence. Neither of these moves is very street smart. But given that the majority of the film takes place in the late 1960s, their ignorance is forgivable. Still, I felt like I was watching a horror movie and had to restrain myself from yelling at the characters on the screen to not do what they were doing.

The draw of the film is each character’s passion for finding who The Zodiac is. It begs you to question how far you would pursue this quest and highlights the costs and dangers involved. It also leads you to examine the phenomenon of serial killings in general. The usual questions of why and how such things occur will indefinitely arise.

Zodiac left me uneasy at having to watch such tragic events unfold. But it also left me glad that advances in psychological profiling, forensic science and social sciences have made it a little easier to capture and perhaps prevent serial killers. I also found the film to just be very entertaining.

Grade: A-