Zodiac

Obsession can be a terrible and destructive thing; it can destroy the individual himself or the people around him if left unchecked. Within this story we are witnesses to several types of obsessions and their devastating effects on people involved, whether they're the police, the reporters or the killer. This is not a mystery that is looking for a solution, what we're given is a big budget docu-drama that spans years without a resolution for an ending. What we are shown is the difficult roadblocks that a lot of police run into when investigating a murder, without solid evidence a detective cannot capture the prime suspect in the case.
A mysterious killer known as the Zodiac terrorizes the San Francisco area and plays a terrifying game of cat and mouse with the police department and the local newspapers. The biggest problem with this film is the length of time, not the movie itself, even though it is two and a half hour long, but the time span that the story takes place in. The story starts in the late 60s and the true end doesn't come until the late 80s, this is a little long for a story to hold the audiences attention and even with the solid acting of Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr. and Chloe Sevigny we're left with an emptiness that just doesn't seem to be filled.
I remember reading about the Zodiac killings when I was younger, I even remember owning the book that Robert Graysmith later wrote, but the fear and the hopelessness of the situation just doesn't come across in the film. The true examination in this story is the desperation that everyone involved felt and the lives that were destroyed by this killer, victims and investigators alike. It was interesting to see all of the different phases that the investigation went through but to say that this film was a completely enjoyable movie to watch would be stretching the meaning of enjoyable. I liked the fact that the actors involved were able to show the audience different aspects of their abilities within their craft, but the story takes to long to tell and without a clear cut ending the audience is left wanting.