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| Jake Gyllenhaal and Amanda Siegfried |
If you missed Zodiac when it was released in 2007, you can rent it now on one of several platforms. It's well worth the investment, both in money and time (2 hours and 37 minutes). But make sure you are clear-headed and sharp at the start, as the circuitous plot takes you down several long, complicated paths and the rapid-fire dialog is best understood with the subtitles feature turned on.
Instead of cops and robbers, think cops and reporters. Based on a still-unsolved serial crime spree that gripped California for many years, Zodiac showcases several fine actors we know today when they were mere babes. Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhaal, Dermot Mulroney and Robert Downey, Jr. look almost too young for their roles, but that might be because they -- and we -- are all so much older now.
Aside from several brutal scenes -- I had to cover my eyes and my ears -- much of the action takes place in complex conversations between two or three of the characters in various locations -- a newsroom, a dark bar, on the steps of the courthouse -- hashing out the facts of the case. San Francisco police detective David Toschi (Ruffalo) becomes frustrated by the brash intrusion of Robert Graysmith (Gyllenhaal), an eager cartoonist at the San Francisco Chronicle who becomes obsessed with finding the killer. (You will be too.)
Directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, Inglorious Basterds, Panic Room) and featuring Amanda Siegfried, Anthony Edwards and John Carroll Lynch, Zodiac warrants a second viewing in order to fully grok all the plot twists and turns. Or you could just read the book, written by the real-life cartoonist, which has gotten rave reviews.
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