Wonderful Cinema’s review published on Letterboxd:
★★★★½ = Superb
There are very few films I can watch again and again. Se7en is one of them. Zodiac is another. I love these two films because they are very well written and produced, and marry my favourite film genre – thrillers – with my fascination for serial killers. Both films are directed by the brilliant David Fincher.
Fincher has had great success in Hollywood. Se7en (1995) is an established genre classic and Zodiac (2007) is a cult classic, as is Fight Club (1999). Fincher has also brought us The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), The Social Network (2010) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), all massive earners at the box office.
Zodiac is a mystery crime thriller based on the 1986 non-fiction book by Robert Graysmith. Graysmith was a political cartoonist at the San Francisco Chronicle during the Zodiac Killer’s reign of terror in northern California in the late 1960s and early 70s. Graysmith became obsessed with the case and spent more than a decade of his life following innumerable leads and clues in an attempt to find the serial killer’s identity. Fincher’s film follows Graysmith’s story as he initially works with press colleagues and official investigators, and subsequently tries single-handedly to break the case.
Zodiac is a thrilling and fascinating portrait of a true-life investigation. The screenplay is impeccable, as is the direction and acting by Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey, Jr. and others. It is one of the best made films of the last decade.
Full review available here at WonderfulCinema.com.
WONDERFUL CINEMA'S LETTERBOXD LISTS
• 25 Great Serial Killer Movies You’ve Probably Seen
• 25 Great Serial Killer Movies You May Not Have Seen
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Short reviews on high quality films. No spoilers.