I The Behrend Beacon
Zodiac turns true sto
By Scott Muska
student life editor
In the 1970 s and 'Bos. newspaper cartoonist
Robert Graysmith became obsessed with one of the
most notorious and popular serial killers of all
time. This murderer dubbed himself the "Zodiac
Killer, - and his story has drawn the attention of the
masses for nearly 40 years because of one reason:
he has never been caught.
Graysmith wrote a number of hooks about the
Zodiac killer, and these were the main basis for
director David Fincher's new film, "Zodiac." Jake
Gyllenhaal was cast to play Graysmith in the
movie, and he did not disappoint. Just as in his pre
vious work, "Donnie Darko," he expertly forces
the mindset of his complex character onto the audi
ence and makes them understand in a way that it
becomes almost reasonable.
During the movie. Graysmith's obsession with
the killer starts out rather small while he is working
for the San Francisco Chronicle as a small-time
cartoonist and attempts to solve one of the puzzles,
or ciphers, that the "Zodiac killer" famously sent to
police and newspapers in the California area.
Through the killer, he forms a friendship and bond
with the Chronicles' acclaimed crime writer, Paul
Avery, an eccentric drug and alcohol abuser that
smokes incessantly and is played very well by
Robert Downey Jr.
The two newspaper employees begin their own
investigation into the mystery of the killer's identi
ty, while police all over California remain stumped,
namely Mark Ruffalo's character Inspector Toschi,
who becomes the other main character in the film
alongside Graysmith.
The movie is based solely on the pursuit of the
"Zodiac killer" and it focuses on the deterioration
of the relationships and lives of the men that
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became obsessed with finding him. Toschi and
Graysmith both develop issues that strain their for
merly very strong and intimate relationships with
their wives, while Avery becomes entwined in a
downward spiral of drug and alcohol abuse that
ultimately results in the loss of his job.
What may be recognized preemptively before
seeing the movie is the longer-than-usual run time
of about three hours, but Fincher uses all of the
time in a captivating way that has rarely been done.
The movie is very easy to sit through, and at no
point does it become dull. Fincher has done it
again, achieving cinematic brilliance through a
very unique film experience, just as he did with
"Fight Club," "Seven," and "The Game."
When I went to the viewing of "Zodiac," I took
my most trusted movie-going philosopher, assitant
news editor Lenny Smith. He is the Roeper to my
Ebert, and as usual he agreed with me that the
movie was an overall success. He did, however,
feel that the movie was longer than appropriate or
necessary. "I really applaud Jake Gyllenhaal's act
ing in this movie, and Downey Jr. wasn't too bad
either," said Smith.
"Zodiac" was one of the most anxiously awaited
movies of the year so far and it does not disappoint.
Fincher adapted a non-fiction novel into a movie
almost flawlessly, and told a true story thoroughly
in an engaging and entertaining way while staying
away from the boring set-up of a documentary. He
captured the time period and the hysteria that
ensued during the Zodiac's reign of terror in the
California area, and conveyed this to his modern
day audience. "Zodiac" is a cinematic success
because of a great storyline, above average acting,
and amazing directing. If you enjoy murder mys
teries, this adaptation of a real-life one will keep
you entertained and in suspense until the ending
that brings it all together.
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* Statistics courtesy of BoxOfficeMojo.com
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