Arguably David Fincher's masterpiece. Packed with meticulous detail and rich characterizations, this procedural mounts a thoroughly convincing thesis to solve a real mess of a case. It's also a terrific chronicle of obsession and a nail-biting, eerie thriller. It's able to exist on all those levels without falling apart and that is ultimately its greatest accomplishment. At nearly three hours, the pace never lags and the film is consistently absorbing and entertaining. You could say it has more in common with JFK than All The President's Men. But James Vanderbilt's intelligent screenplay is able to hammer the points with more clarity than Oliver Stone, while Fincher's direction is crisp without being overtly flashy. I'm not saying it's a better film than JFK, but I'd argue it's more satisfying.