I made the dire mistake of not checking how long this movie was before attending the 10:30 showing. It is 3 hours long! I have never been in a theater so late into the night before. My complaining aside, I didn't want the movie to end because of any fault with it, but because I didn't want to walk to my car for fear of being assaulted by homicidal rednecks who keep families of free roaming squirrels in their mobile home. You can't go wrong with Fincher behind the helm of a movie that investigates a truly twisted character and his very indiscriminate manner of committing homicide.

But it's not Fincher's best outing. The dark settings are brilliant and Fincher just seems to get better and better at setting a scene emotionally and visually. But what I have always loved about Fincher's movies is how the tension and mystery of his thrillers draws you in with every passing scene until you are nearly as tormented as the protagonist for want of an answer to the mystery. I didn't experience that pull with Zodiac past the first half of the film. The first part of the film introduces a lot of characters who will become vital throughout the second half, but also moves poetically between all these different settings. It never becomes overly confusing. The second half leaves this form behind in favor of following Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) through his home ruining turmoil arising from a near ridiculous desire to find the identity of the Zodiac killer. Gyllenhaal does a great job of portraying Mr. Graysmith. It seems like a ridiculous thing that Graysmith put himself through so much torment, but he really did, and the meek but determined face that Gyllenhaal puts to the character works well. However, like I said, the movie is 3 hours long. I got tired of following Graysmith in his search and longed for the tension and fear of the first part of the film.

Regardless, I'd suggest the movie. It is worth the entrance fee just because of the beauty and splendor that Fincher paints upon the canvas of the celluloid. In an era of filmgoing when we are being inundated with crappy horror films and our favorite actors are starting to star in them, it's nice to know that there are still some talented directors out there that can create a juicy thriller without resorting to the trappings of the horror genre.