Fincher Countdown Part 5 - Zodiac

Hello everyone and welcome to Some Like It Scott's latest limited series: the Fincher Countdown. Each week in the lead up to David Fincher's latest film, Mank, the two Scotts and countdown special guest, Jay Habib, will be working their way through most* of David Fincher's filmography in chronological order, starting from his non-franchise debut, the neo-noir psychological detective thriller, SEVEN, leading all the way to 2014's GONE GIRL. Join us each week as we talk about a different Fincher film!

 

On Part 5 of the countdown, Scott, Scott, and Jay try to crack one of the most famous unsolved serial killer cases of all time in David Fincher's 2007 historically fictionalized true crime-esque mystery thriller, ZODIAC. Based on the hunt for the titular serial killer, who is believed to have murdered double-digit people up and down the California coast in the second half of the 20th century, ZODIAC follows the story of Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), a San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist in the late 60s and early 70s, who becomes obsessed with the Zodiac murders and the puzzles the killer anonymously sent to local newspapers. Graysmith's obsession is shared by the Chronicle's crime reporter Paul Avery (a pre-Iron Man Robert Downey Jr.), who pesters and prods the police's investigation, led by Inspector David Toschi (a pre-Hulk Mark Ruffalo). The police and the Chronicle butt heads on several occasions over the course of the investigation, as Fincher weaves an immensely engrossing tale filled with suspense and tension, even in the unlikeliest of places, as Graysmith's attempts to hunt down the Zodiac span more than a decade, two marriages, and likely several friendships. The countdown trio give their thoughts on one of the true crime genre's original critical successes, its all-star ensemble cast, and whether the film justifies its lengthy runtime.