By Katherine Ramsland

One Man's Curse is Another Man's Mystery

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"Sleeping with a baseball bat under the bed, constantly looking over our shoulders, school buses with police escorts, and wondering just who among our neighbors might be a serial killer or his next victim."  So said a reporter who had lived in Vallejo, California during the late 1960s era of the Zodiac murders.  He offered his recollection for The Patriot-News as the movie of this infamous case hit its first-weekend stride, and director David Fincher (Se7en) deftly recreates this very mix of tension and terror.  While events are familiar to most crime buffs, the settings, choice of actors, polished atmosphere, and selected interactions are nevertheless satisfying.  For newbies to this tale, the suspense alone should prove gripping.  But beneath the surface, there's more.

Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith

The self-dubbed Zodiac's crimes began with the fatal shooting of a pair of Vallejo teenagers on their first date. Later, he killed two women, one in Vallejo and another in Napa County, taking credit for all three incidents before his execution- style shooting of San Francisco cab driver Paul Stine in October 1969.  Since he killed in several jurisdictions, before computers and fax machines were commonly used, he cleverly obstructed a unified investigation. 

Robert Downey Jr. as Paul Avery

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal as the political cartoonist and author Robert Graysmith, Robert Downey, Jr. as crime reporter Paul Avery, and Mark Ruffalo as lead investigator Dave Toschi, the film is structured as two distinct but connected stories: 1) the murders and their impact on the Bay area, and 2) one man's personal quest to unmask the killer.  The transitions are smooth and the urgency lively as each key character makes both allies and enemies.  Some lose their way entirely, victims of their inability to cope, while others find something essential in the scary events to care about.

Mark Ruffalo as Dave Toschi

A few reviewers have complained that once investigation loses steam halfway through, the pace declines, but in fact it's at this point that the story reveals the demands and frustrations of due process — the way it really happens, contrary to how today's crime show writers pace their tales.  An investigation like this was not easy and certainly not solvable with some quick deductions from obvious clues.  What replaces the breathless pace we've grown used to is the way the various crime-solvers in this film brainstorm together for personal closure, recalling the clue-developing conversations from the classic film, All the President's Men.  They stick with it, even when they know they can't take it to court.  "Just because you can't prove it," says Graysmith, "doesn't mean it's not true."

Movie Poster: All the President's Men

Yet, just because you have a good set of coincidences doesn't mean your interpretation is correct, either.  Mix ambiguity and coincidence with a craving for certainty and you'll get an answer but not necessarily the answer.  We see how slippery this approach gets for Graysmith in several scenes.  If a handwriting expert supports his notions, for example, the expert is credible; if not, the expert can't be trusted.  That's poor investigation: by hook or by crook, make the facts fit the theory.

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The Zodiac Killer Feature Story