I remember the Zodiac killer. When I was a kid the general idea was that for the first time in my parents lives, if they didn’t keep an eye on me, or if i wasn’t a good boy, the Zodiac was going to get me. Granted, San Francisco in the late 60’s and early 70’s has been stereotyped as a haven for hippies and deadheads, but really, that was an 80’s revivalist experience. It’s revisionist history. The city I grew up in was far to preoccupied with the black panthers, the symbionese liberation army, gay rights, passing the equal rights amendment, impeaching tricky Dick, and the zodiac killer to pay much attention to a few city blocks full of long haired stoned people. I really wish we’d gotten the clich?ɬ we deserved, and not the one that the one the kids from the east coast were too chicken to undertake for themselves. I mean really. Weren’t the freaks, the zippies and the zowies all really from Harvard, Yale and Princeton? I think they made it out west for a few years because the drug laws were different, but soon enough, like all of our socioeconomic booms, they flew back wherever they came from on Pan-Am, and all we got was this ugly tie dye t-shirt, and a bad reputation. Thanks a lot.
Because I grew up terrified of the Zodiac killer, I was excited and a little cautious about seeing the film. I love David Fincher, director of Alien3, Seven, The Game, and Fight Club, he came out swinging after a career built on Madonna videos, television commercials, and Aerosmith short films. The cast is also perfect, featuring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Chlo?ɬ Sevigny, and Anthony Edwards in an awesome wig. The film also features some wonderful cameos, and bit parts played by superb and beloved actors (I won’t tell you who.)
The first third of the film was really unnerving for me. Maybe not because it was really all that scary… people were heckling a little, and a decent crowd of kids left about half way through (no doubt because they wanted to see more killing and less psychology, and the undercarriage of obsession)… I think it was mostly scary for me because I remember all that, and knew what was coming. I’d had an image in my mind of the Zodiac all my life, and this film didn’t let me down at all.
The production design was outstanding. I found myself actually cheering at the beautifully filmed San Francisco. There is a time lapse interstitial of the Trans-America pyramid being built which was mind-blowing and solicited applause from the entire audience. The house boats in Sausalito, the beautiful old cars, and how they managed to make grey walls, grey tabletops with bright orange chairs look stylish and beautiful I couldn’t tell you, but they did.
There was a strange anti-smoking theme throughout the film. Ashtrays were placed obviously on every table, an announcement was made about smoking being reserved for the last six rows of an airplane (followed by a baby coughing) and the film’s star chain smoker (Robert Downey Jr.) died of pulmonary emphysema (which was announced proudly in the ending credits.) I’m wondering if the attention to ashtrays and death by cigarettes is a sign that David Fincher has given up smoking. I wouldn’t put it past him.
Over all I liked the film. But like Panic Room, I didn’t love it. I wanted to, but it just seemed like a couple of hours were cut out of the film. It’s already very long, but Fincher takes his time, and builds up a scene with subtlety, and tension. Editing for time seems to squelch his inherent style, and take something away from the film. But it was time well spent (I chose to see this film over going to see Jason Drummond [DJ Spun] at the Rong Records party at the 222 club,) but it would have been much better if I’d been at an earlier show with you, so I could have clutched your arm and hidden on your shoulder in the scary parts, and then gone dancing with you after.
Ah well… next time.
