Zodiac (2007) *** 1/2

Zodiac (2007)

I have long panned former MTV music video director David Fincher (Alien 3, Se7en, Fight Club, Panic Room) as an overrated director who made pompously self-important, stylistically overblown films that weren’t as good as he clearly wanted us to think they were, and that are vastly overrated by his blindly loyal fans (witness the current rankings of mediocre films like Fight Club and Se7en on IMDB’s top 250 list, at #28 and #39 respectively).  With Zodiac, Fincher abandons the immaturity that hobbled his previous work and produces a riveting procedural that is leaps and bounds above his other films in terms of narrative and style.  For once, Fincher lets the film dictate the style, rather than the other way around, and he wisely avoids  artificially dramatizing this true story, opting instead for a matter-of-fact narrative that recognizes and acknowledges the story’s inherent interest.  The lack of artificial contrivances serve to make the actual depictions in the film all the more compelling, and what results is a fascinating character study of the men closest to the case.  Kudos to Fincher for maximizing his talent as a filmmaker in service of the story, rather than forcing the story to service his penchant for self-indulgence as he has in the past.  He directs with a sure and steady hand, discarding the absurdly attention-deficit MTV-style editing tricks that marred his previous work, and elicits sturdy, convincing performances from everyone involved in the large cast (this is Robert Downey Jr.’s best work in years).  It helps that he worked from a tightly focused script that packs an incredible amount of information into an efficient 2 1/2 running time that feels half as short.  This is Fincher’s best film to date, and the only one worthy of serious accolades.