Despite the gritty, committed performances of its triumvirate of stars – Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr (the latter two not quite drawn into Marvel’s all-encompassing web at this point) – David Fincher’s uncompromising 2007 exploration of the real-life 1960s serial killer case failed to make much on an impression at the box office.
Fortunately, the film has found a more appreciative audience in the years since. This new 4K release – so sharp and so clear it’s like being back in the 1960s in offices full of sweaty men in suits wreathed in a fug of cigarette smoke or knocking back booze in seedy bars – is likely to accrue even more admirers in those looking for the very best feature film presentation that physical media has to offer (the Blu-ray disc version includes commentaries and featurettes).
Based on two non-fiction books written by political cartoonist Robert Graysmith (portrayed with breathless, dogged determination by Gyllenhaal), Zodiac tells the story of the manhunt for the so-called ‘Zodiac killer’ who terrorised the San Francisco Bay area during the late 1960s and early 1970s, taunting police with letters and cyphers mailed to newspapers.
It’s a cat-and-mouse story, with ‘Zodiac’ (he was never caught, but the authorities have a pretty good idea who he was, even though they were never able to pin him down at the time) almost toying with the police, Graysmith, the press, and even powerful celebrity lawyer/former actor Melvin Belli (Brian Cox), leaving clues and puzzles and even, horrifyingly, scraps of bloodstained clothing torn from his victims.
Zodiac is a heavily dialogue-driven affair with endless scenes of powerful men arguing in offices. Fincher brings it all to the screen with his trademark attention to detail and tireless quest for truth and verisimilitude – after the film’s release, the cast spoke of the fact that Fincher would often film 70 takes or more of a scene to make sure that he got exactly what he wanted from his performers. The handful of scenes that depict some of Zodiac’s kills actually look a little out-of-place, as if they belong in some Scream-style slasher movie, but they add a much-needed sense of urgency to a film that, while beautiful to look at and stunningly crafted, can feel a bit dry and heavy-going in places.
Ultimately it’s a film about three obsessed men; Graysmith takes his passion for the case to extremes by continuing his search for the truth long after Zodiac’s killing spree has ended, Mark Ruffalo gives police inspector Dave Toschi an exasperated, sometimes twinkling charm, and Robert Downey Jr is pretty much rehearsing for his defining role as Tony Stark as the cynical, rule-breaking, alcoholic journalist Paul Avery.
18 years on, it’s hard to imagine a film like Zodiac being made today. In many ways it’s a throwback to 1970s thrillers like All The President’s Men and Chinatown. While it isn’t a film that anyone’s likely to want to revisit regularly, it’s a reminder that, at its best, cinema needn’t really be all about franchises and sequels and reimaginings and that there should still be room for tough, torn-from-the-headlines films for adults that demand a bit more than the passive experience delivered by much of today’s cinema. Zodiac, by its very nature, isn’t easy viewing, and that alone is enough to make this new release highly recommended for lovers of hard, powerful noir cinema.
ZODIAC is available now on 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray.
