For those who haven't seen the film, Zodiac was a thriller film released in 2007 directed by David Fincher. Fincher is a well known Hollywood director with films under his belt such as Se7en, Fight Club, The Social Network, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The film has a collection of A-list actors led by Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Robert Downey Jr.
Zodiac is based off of the book by Robert Graysmith and follows the investigators and reporters as they search for a serial killer in the San Francisco Bay area. The serial killer taunts the police with letters and cryptic messages basically throughout the film. The lead character, Robert Graysmith is a cartoonist for The Chronicle and becomes obsessed with finding out who the Zodiac killer is. Gyllenhaal plays Robert Graysmith in the film and through his obsession, the character is connected to David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo), an inspector who has come close to catching the killer, but has had no luck. Downey Jr. plays a reporter from The Chronicle, Paul Avery, who before Graysmith, is piecing together the killer's messages to try and find out who it is.
The film takes place over a span of years as these investigators and reporters try to track down the Zodiac killer. Graysmith becomes invested into figuring out who the killer is and actually comes extremely close to finding out the identity, but Toschi can only assist with proof. According to the end, as you watch it through, the audience can make the assumption that Graysmith has found Zodiac but viewers won't officially have that confirmation because the Zodiac case still remains open to this day and unsolved.
My angle for this particular film in what I'm reviewing is the theme behind obsession. Three of the leads are overcome with obsession and while watching it, Graysmith, Toschi, and Avery are all affected in a different way. Obsession is a dangerous thing. The film drags on a little bit, but it's not for action lovers. It's a thriller and a mystery. You are following these characters as they try to solve these murders. So I highly recommend watching the film if you're the type of person who enjoys mind-boggling films. This film requires not just the simplicity of watching it, but actually thinking throughout the film.
Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) is obsessed with piecing together information on the Zodiac killer and tries to work with David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) to figure out who it is. Avery believes if they can work together, if Avery can do his job, he can help Toschi in some way. At the beginning of the process, Avery and Toschi sort of have different motivations. Toschi wants Avery to stay out of his way and stop advertising the investigation because the Zodiac killer is aware and reading these articles in The Chronicle. Obsession gets the best of Avery over the years and we discover that Avery is a drunk living in a boat house in the dark and he has given up basically on the Zodiac. Granted, this change in character was over a time span of years. With Toschi, years of obsession over tracking this killer not only starts to do damage to him, but his family. Toschi's partner, played by Anthony Edwards ends up transferring departments after searching for so long. Toschi is accused of writing a letter in the form of the Zodiac killer and has no choice but to leave the department.
My personal favorite transformation is Graysmith. I am slowly watching Graysmith gather pieces of information on the Zodiac killer and his character has yet to surface. He gradually becomes invested into the killer and eventually meets Toschi. He has known Avery because Graysmith works at The Chronicle where Avery did. Graysmith followed Avery's story and collected clues. When Graysmith decides to go on an investigation himself after Avery and Toschi are no longer involved, he becomes overtaken by obsession. This occurs about three years after the last known investigation with the killer. Graysmith decides to write a book about the Zodiac killer and in the process, is overcome with obsession just like Toschi and Avery. Obsession damages his relationship with his children and his wife.
I am fascinated with the concept of obsession in the film mostly by watching Jake Gyllenhaal's performance as Robert Graysmith. I see a very intelligent character who is motivated by curiosity. He has a natural human element to him which we all can relate to. He is looking for answers. When he doesn't get those answers, his mind starts to deteriorate. The problem with obsession is it gives people tunnel vision. Once you become obsessed with one thing, everything else around you starts to fade. People you care about simply no longer matter to you. Graysmith's intelligence level doesn't change throughout the film because he's always closer to finding out what he wants to know, but I think watching him become a person so invested into something that would destroy what he loves is the appeal. His wife is threatened and so is he. The thing I enjoy about films like this is the way the killer is made out to be. The killer has no sympathy. The killer has no concept of humanity and that makes a one-sided villain in my opinion. He has his reasons, I believe. The movie made me believe that the killer was imitating film itself.
I see films like this and I think if the killer has no sense of morality, it doesn't affect his intelligence level. Graysmith has a lot to lose with his obsession, therefore with emotional triggers that could affect his intelligence level. I admire that difference between the Zodiac killer and Graysmith. It's also something to compare to Toschi. Avery is simply, to me, obsessed. In general, he doesn't have much to donate his time to. Toschi has a family and so does Graysmith. For the killer, it's easier to tap into that emotional trigger for those leads than Avery.
There is a reason characters like Graysmith are easy to relate to. A person who destroys the things we care about become an obsession. At first, Graysmith is just stimulated by the information and curious and wanting to go on this journey to figure out who it is. In the film, you're trying to understand why someone like Graysmith is so concerned with finding out the truth about a killer who has nothing to do with him. Avery is just fascinated and I think because in his own way, Avery is mad. Avery is eccentric. I know Robert Downey Jr. for sure always delivers on an eccentric level. Toschi isn't necessarily fascinated by the Zodiac killer. He is assigned to this. It's his job. So that's why Toschi's motivation is pure. This character has an obligation to protect people from someone like this killer and if he fails at his job, Toschi deals with the guilt. When a character is given a responsibility, someone with high morality and high expectations, then they realize that to find the murderer, has taken most of their life, puts a massive weight on their shoulders. Toschi is considered a protagonist in the film and therefore, with the failure weighing over him, it's a downward spiral for his integrity. I think the biggest point in the film where we see that dramatic change is when he is accused of writing the letter.
However, Graysmith is different. I don't see a connection between him and the Zodiac killer. I see a pure obsession. I see curiosity. I see that Graysmith chooses to get involved. That's what I like about the character. I find it incredible when someone with no connection to the villain is just absolutely obsessed with the concept of the zodiac. To me, he just tapped into a natural human element. The answers were there, but none of it was ever pieced together or solved. He might not have been connected to the killer, but in some way Graysmith was connected to Avery.
After watching the film, I guess the question is, if you have seen it, great. If not, please do watch the film. Especially if you are a David Fincher fan. Do research on the Zodiac killer.
The question I guess that remains to me, open for discussion, is what do you think Jake Gyllenhaal's character, Robert Graysmith was motivated by to investigate the Zodiac killer?
