Zodiac

I think that this movie was made specifically for me. I love true crime and have listened to so many podcasts on the zodiac killer. This movie perfectly portrays the whole timeline of the zodiac killer and does so while also keeping viewers engaged and tense for over two and a half hours. David Fincher really pulled through with this one. The performances were all amazing. Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., and John Carroll Lynch are all fantastic in this movie. It's not simply a retelling of the events but rather it is a character study on the descent into madness that results from obsession. All three of the main investigators that this movie follows (Robert, Dave, and Paul) fall into madness and lose themselves in different ways Jake Gyllenhaal's character Robert Graysmith becomes so obsessed with the case that he loses his family and those closest to him. In one of the most suspenseful scenes I have ever witnessed in a film, we see him run away from Bob Vaughn in the basement. This scene is meant to show viewers that Robert is losing himself in the process of finding the killer. He suspects everyone and sees the zodiac killer wherever he goes. I also really appreciate Chloë Sevigny's performance and the way she plays Melanie. She is the perfect antithesis to Robert's madness. She remains grounded and constantly tries to remind him of the family he has to no avail. RDJ delivers an underrated perfomance as Paul Avery. His descent into madness is much more physical than that of Robert Graysmith. He descends into alcoholism and loses his job due to his obsession and fear of the zodiac killer. It begins as soon as the first letter arrives but suddenly goes off the rails once he is called out personally. The way that RDJ portrays someone who lives in constant fear and the feeling of failure is all too realistic and brilliantly acted. Mark Ruffalo gives his best performance that I have seen of his to date. I'm not the biggest Mark Ruffalo fan but this performance was outstanding. Unlike the slow descent into madness of the other two leads, Dave's is much more hidden and dealt with internally. Dave just can't seem to let go. His obsession leads to his removal from homicide and even after he lost his role in the department and risked his job entirely, he can't seem to escape it. He lets Robert pull him back into the case multiple times, the last of which is in the middle of the night at his own home. No matter how hard he tries to escape the haunting case of the zodiac, he is unable. John Carroll Lynch made this role look easy to pull off. I can assure you it was not. How does one play the role of the single most notorious serial killer in the modern ages? Ask John Carroll Lynch. He is so disturbing in this role. Every single time he is on screen from the moment we meet him we are confident that he is the killer. He portrays the killer with such confidence that its disturbing. He's willing to admit to the officers that he had bloody knives in his car the day of a murder and give them his watch with the zodiac sign on it. The confidence and aura of being untouchable was played perfectly. That is all assuming he's the killer... (he is) David Fincher creates such an incredible environment with this film. The dark city and colors throughout the movie look incredible. His use of lighting is unmatched to anything I have ever seen before. Anytime the killer is on screen we can see everything that is happening besides who is doing it. That really immerses the viewers into the scene with the characters. The best example I can think of is in the basement with Bob Vaughn. Every time he speaks his face is blacked out by a shadow, but every time he isn't speaking he is fully visible. The camera work and lighting control is so good in this movie and it creates some of the most suspenseful scenes in all of cinema. This movie is so fucking good and I can't recommend it enough.