Zodiac is based on the book of the same name written by Robert Graysmith about the Zodiac murders and the hunt for the killer. The book itself focuses on the police officers involved in the investigation, but the movie has a different feel to it and looks primarily at Graysmith's unique position. You see, Graysmith (played by Jake Gyllenhaal of Jarhead, The Day After Tomorrow and Donnie Darko fame) isn't a cop, he just happens to work at one of the newspapers that Zodiac sends his letters to, The San Francisco Chronicle. But get this, he isn't even a columnist or editor or anything that you would think would normally get him involved. Graysmith is a political cartoonist and he only really gets into the case through sheer dumb luck. Early in his career at the Chronicle, he befriends noted columnist Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) and most of the movie follows not only Zodiac's victims, but this pair of journalists and the pair of cops on the case, Inspectors David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and William Armstrong (Anthony Edwards).
The story takes place over some 20+ years, but most of the movie is between 1969 and 1974 where the Zodiac murders and his ciphered communications took place the most. The first half of the movie focuses on the investigation by the investigators and Avery's descent into a drunken, paranoid mess as Zodiac threatens him specifically. I have to say, it always amazes me how well Robert Downey Jr. plays the "drunken mess" character. During this time, the investigators put a lot of stock into handwriting experts and it seems like every suspect they bring in just doesn't quite match up. At one point, the cops seem to have their man in the blue collar worker Arthur Leigh Allen (John Carroll Lynch), but even though they have enough evidence to search his house and question him, the handwriting evidence works against them.
Eventually, the killings seem to fade away and the public starts to forget about Zodiac, and the only person still actively obsessed with the hunt is Graysmith. When his wife reminds him that he probably has the most information about the killer in his various files, Graysmith starts to write a book (the one that this movie is later based on). He uses this book as not only an excuse to collect his thoughts on the investigation, but to also further it, and possibly solve it.
The second disc in Zodiac: Director's Cut contains two types of featurettes. There is "The Film" and "The Facts." "The Film" contains background information about production (costuming, filming, writing, etc.), the visual effects and a split-screen comparison between animatics and the finished film for the three murders shown in the film. "The Facts" talk more about the actual events than the movie. One documentary is about Arthur Leigh Allen, while the other one is a really in-depth look at the murders and investigation themselves. Both categories are good for people wanting to know more about the movie or the crimes.
While Zodiac is fairly lengthy, it really doesn't feel like it since you spend most of your time on the edge of your seat worrying about either the victims, Avery or Graysmith. It is definitely worth watching, if nothing else then to get a feel for the events from a historical perspective. Gyllenhaal does a pretty decent job as the obsessed bookworm, while the other supporting cast members really help to back up his performance.
