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Zodiac Our rating: Rate this movie   MPAA rating: R (for some strong killings, language, drug material, and brief sexual images) Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller Theater release: March 02, 2007 by Paramount Pictures Directed by: David Fincher Runtime: 2 hours 34 minutes Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal (Robert Graysmith), Mark Ruffalo (Inspector David Toschi), Robert Downey Jr. (Paul Avery), Anthony Edwards (Inspector William Armstrong), Brian Cox (Melvin Belli), Elias Koteas (Sgt. Jack Mulanax), Dermot Mulroney (Captain Marty Lee) Related: Talk About It/Family Corner

Jaws introduced us to the shark-cam. From the shark's perspective, we saw the vulnerable legs of that oblivious swimmer just before the deadly strike. Then, blood stained the water.

David Fincher's new film Zodiac, based on a murder mystery that began in 1969 and continues today, opens with "the incoming mail cam." We're drawn into the offices of The San Francisco Chronicle, moving along with a letter penned by a murderer who calls himself "the Zodiac." And when the letter is discovered, fear stains the air … and spreads.

Okay, so the shot isn't as immediately terrifying as that moment in Jaws. But gradually, the Zodiac's letters—which often include puzzling cryptograms, and claim responsibility for brutal murders—inspire a citywide terror. As the cops, investigators, and journalists discuss strategies for catching this shark, they seem every bit as frantic and flustered as the men who hunted the sea monster in Spielberg's famous thriller.

Robert Downey, Jr., and Jake Gyllenhaal as employees of The San Francisco Chronicle

Zodiac's screenplay is as labyrinthine as Oliver Stone's JFK, but Fincher never lets things become a preachy or ponderous commentary. Screenwriter James Vanderbilt took the wealth of information compiled by Robert Graysmith and wove facts, testimonies, and terrifying events into a screenplay that snaps, crackles, and pops. Fincher focuses on recreating these events with meticulous visual detail. He recreates the period with such precision that Zodiac looks like it might have been made at the same time as All the President's Men and The Conversation, films that clearly influenced Fincher's work. It's hard to believe such a studious work would come from the man who crafted such sensual thrillers as Se7en and Fight Club.

But when the killer strikes, Fincher fans will feel the same paralyzing fear that the director brought to Panic Room. And this time, he doesn't turn away from the bloodshed. This isn't Se7en. We don't arrive on the crime scene after the fact. No, this time he brings the camera in so close to the victims as the killing blows are struck that many will turn away in horror.

Moviegoers should consider ahead of time whether or not they want to witness these depictions of senseless brutality. But it's easy to see why Fincher includes them. He wants us to get angry. He wants us to share the maddening obsession of those who try to track this sadistic monster. He wants us to feel their frustration when the clues lead nowhere, theories fall apart, and trails go cold.

Hannibal Lecter, Keyser Söze, and Se7en's John Doe scared us with intelligence. But the Zodiac's messages are far from eloquent—he's not a genius, he's just a bloodthirsty egomaniac. Like Jack the Ripper, his obsession with becoming a criminal celebrity should make him an easy catch. What makes him scary is his ghostlike ability to remain untouchable and enigmatic.

Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Edwards as a cops on the case

His homemade PR campaign seems like a boilerplate for today's viral marketing efforts. He has an insignia as catchy as Nike or Target; his messages are interactive, challenging us with puzzles—and his messages pop up when you least expect them. And, as in advertising, the more he claims about himself, the more his audience begins to doubt him. Did the Zodiac actually commit all of the murders he claimed? Or did he only carry out a few, but convince us of the rest through his power of persuasion?

The killer becomes such a powerful presence that the film's main characters seem pale by comparison, drained by the vampire. The Chronicle's crime reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) and cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) give us a good sense of how the Zodiac disrupted everyday procedure. The editors' debate about whether to indulge the killer's exhibitionist ambitions and publish his letters for the public, or to refuse and test his temper, is the film's most compelling ethical dilemma.

Homicide inspector Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and his wingman William Armstrong (Anthony Edwards) acquaint us with the corridors of the San Francisco Police Department. We feel their pain as the laws fail to empower them to make an arrest. And eventually, they begin to succumb to despair as they revisit cold crime scenes, like the intersection of Washington and Cherry where a murder happened in front of witnesses, wondering if they'll ever find that clue … the one that will solve it all. Before long, they're aggravated by movies about the very crime they cannot solve.

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