In the age of CSI, Bones, Crossing Jordan, Court TV Forensic Files and a long unending list of forensics shows, the public receives a daily helping of all the gory details (real or made up) of modern and elder, police investigation. You have more people discussing DNA evidence, autopsy results and hair fiber analysis at the watercooler more than they did 3 years ago. Into this forensic savvy new world David Fincher’s new film, Zodiac arrives. And it seems to be entering into it with a handicap it either isn’t aware of or doesn’t seem to want to admit exists.

The film is of course, based on the book of the same name by Robert Graysmith, a former cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle during the time of the infamous Zodiac killings in the early 70’s. The film follows his personal experiences of following the case at first by proxy of the newspaper executives who receive correspondence directly from the Zodiac, and then eventually his own personal, obsessive crusade to figure out the puzzle of who really is the Zodiac killer.

So its David Fincher, a sadistic, mysterious serial killer and the moody seventies. Should be riveting right? Eh… not so much.

Information and the collection of it can be a very engrossing and entertaining thing for some people. I count myself as a proud info junkie, but when you try to make a film of it you’re not making it something the audience is involved in but more like dragged along wondering if they ever catch the guy. Which is fine if you’re not already aware that they never do, then you’re just left in your seat wondering what are you supposed to care about?

Characters? Barely.

So much time is spent moving through the history of the Zodiac investigation that there isn’t much time to develop a believable life for the people who inhabit the story. They come off more like squatters in a very expensive piece of property.

Feature film doesn’t feel like the right medium for this type of story, its far too constricting because of time and the demands of a film studio. Had it been a television mini-series on HBO, Fincher may have been able to spend more time with his characters’ lives and inner workings instead of just using them as chess pieces that move arbitrarily forward for the sake of plot progression.

There are more than enough crime stories and procedural shows for people to get their macabre rocks off. If Zodiac likes to think its on a higher level than these types of productions because of big name actors and a talented director, than truly the fog is thicker in the producers’ minds than the one that permeates through the storied San Francisco landscape.


Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older