Ladies and gentlemen, let's stand up and applaud for a moment.
With his masterpiece SE7EN, his very great cult classic FIGHT CLUB, his mindfuck funhouse thriller THE GAME, and the well-shot/but/lame scripted PANIC ROOM, David Fincher was the bad-boy autuer with a heavy cinema street cred.
But with ZODIAC, which is so damn very great, I think its time to pop out the champagne, and crown Fincher as a Master Filmmaker. He's earned his colors. His movies are now can't-miss events.
While the 160 minute running-length may frighten some folks away, its totally worth it. Its 1st half is a police procedural in a effortless docu-drama execution that is breathtaking, followed by a second half that succeeds in shorter time than Brian DePalma's THE BLACK DAHLIA wished in its wildest wet dreams.
People have complained that the movie lacks "character depth." Thing is, some people confuse melodrama with depth. Gyllenhall, Downey, Anthony E.R. Edwards, Mark Ruffalo, and the other fine actors give their own subtle depth to their roles which make the characters relatable and as deep as a great movie can be.
You know, ACTING.
But Fincher's mastery is his careful and comprehensive set-up of ZODIAC. When the critical scene within a house happens, when the film turns suddenly from a good mystery into making the audience very nervous and anxious. The fact that Gyllenhall perfectly parlays the viewer's emotions on his face is incredible.
When I saw ZODIAC, I really dug the hell out of it. But since seeing it 3 days ago, I've thought about it more and more...and its impressing me more and more.
Which me realize this: I had no idea that I've missed Fincher at the movies. Thanks for coming back. Please stay around this time!
ZODIAC is a sure-fire Oscar contender for Best Cinematography. Anyone agree?
