For around six years between the late 1960s and 1970s, the serial killer known as ‘Zodiac’ terrorised Northern California. He remains unidentified.
Zodiac (2007), David Fincher’s understated, sumptuously atmospheric and unnerving thriller charts the story of the eponymous killer’s manhunt.
Although it is ostensibly a taut procedural about the said manhunt, ultimately, Zodiac is a meticulously crafted tale of obsession and how the pursuit for the killer entirely consumes the lives of the film’s three principal players.
It is only fitting then that the film is directed by David Fincher, a man who is consumed by his fervent devotion to authenticity.
Fincher had constantly been a stickler for details, but for Zodiac, he went to unprecedented lengths.
When Fincher was commissioned to direct the project, based on two Robert Graysmith books – the latter being a cartoonist (Jake Gyllenhaal in the film) who was obsessed with the case – he suggested that the script needed to be revamped.
“I said I won’t use anything in this book that we don’t have a police report for,” Fincher told The New York Times. [1]
So Fincher, screenwriter James Vanderbilt and one of the producers researched the case thoroughly for 18 months – they interviewed people connected to the case and went over all the relevant documents they could get their hands on.
Graysmith said Fincher discovered evidence that wasn’t brought to light during the original investigation – “He outdid the police. My hats off to them.”
Further, the producers hired a private investigator to locate one of the survivors, Mike Mageau.
And all of that was prior to filming.
Once filming began, Fincher took drastic steps to ensure authenticity.
The murder victims’ costumes were meticulously recreated from forensic evidence that was lent to the production.[2]
Trees had to be helicoptered into the Lake Berryessa location, as the area had changed substantially since 1969, and Fincher wanted it to resemble the murder site as closely as possible.
Because he wanted the film to be as accurate as possible, Fincher decided not to depict any of the alleged Zodiac murders for which there were no surviving victims or witnesses.
Hair was digitally added to the close-ups of Gyllenhaal’s knuckles as he draws or holds letters. Fincher felt that Gyllenhaal’s hands “were too hairless and pretty”.
To throw off viewers about the identity of Zodiac, he is played by three actors: John Lacy, Richmond Arquette, and Bob Stephenson.
In order to save time and have complete control in the way he wanted to recreate the murders, Fincher wanted all the blood to be digitally added in later. That, along with recreating San Francisco, was a massive digital undertaking.[3]
Then there was the other Fincher staple – endless retakes. It wore down his actors; Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey, Jr. and Mark Ruffalo.
Gyllenhaal was reduced to tears. Downey, Jr. said he wanted to “garrotte” Fincher. “I think I’m a perfect person to work for him because I understand gulags.”
Then there’s the apocryphal story of Downey, Jr. leaving mason jars filled with his urine around set as a form of protesting the brutal working hours.
But Downey, Jr. also called him “the smartest man in the room.”
All that effort, all that passion and dedication led to something truly extraordinary – Zodiac is a masterpiece; I think it's Fincher’s magnum opus.
A remarkable achievement, Zodiac demands multiple repeat viewings – to both suffuse oneself with its rich story but also to admire the meticulous and breathtaking level of craft on display.
Zodiac sees one of the modern masters at the absolute height of his powers. And it is a joy to behold.
In the words of another modern master, Bong Joon-Ho, “There was really nothing to find fault with about Zodiac, down to the cinematography, art direction, and action.”
Footnotes
Image source Google
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