Noah Thompson’s review published on Letterboxd:
"What did he look like?"
"Normal."
I completely get that it was first reported by TMZ and comes from investigators that might be a true crime equivalent to the Ghostfacers from Supernatural (My mom will be the only person who finds this reference funny.) but if I can indulge the past week's news for just one second, we may now be in a world where we know who the Zodiac Killer is. I was wanting to watch this again sometime soon anyway, but interest when I saw that article on my Twitter feed one morning proceeded to explode. I have also had "Hurdy Gurdy Man" stuck in my head for the past forty-eight hours. Bet you can't guess what song I'm listening to right now. Zodiac is such a "Noah movie" that it's maybe now somewhat shocking that it took me this long to go up to five stars for it. Now having to truly confront the potential of this mystery being solved hasn't made this movie feel any less powerful. Frankly, it's maybe made it even more so. I can't make it too much of a "literally me" type thing because that would just be irresponsible, and I'm likely biased because smelly boy Jake is still one of my favorite guys in this business, but I become so enthralled into the spiraling of this crime thriller whenever Robert Graysmith is onscreen. His passion towards this case, even when it enters the realm of obsession, I feel that shit in my core. Serial killers fascinate us because they are the monsters of reality. Man is the most dangerous game in two ways. They are easy prey, and they are the ultimate predator. Serial killers, the mere concept of them, it crosses boundaries in comfortable American society. Allow yourself to think about it for just one second. Right now, someone could break into your house. You can hear them coming, and even if you do, you can try calling 911, but just through sheer likelihood, if this person is breaking and entering because they want to murder you, they can do it before any cops get there. If that scares you, it's not just true for you. It's true for me too. I could be shot in my bed in-between the time this review is posted before I would post whatever my next review would be. That's scary. That is the type of thing that enters my brain because I have the kind of mind that feels like it never knows when to shut the fuck up. That's why I write, that's why I love stories, that's why I love movies, and that's why I am so fascinated with exactly the kind of work that is being done by every character in Zodiac. David Fincher has crafted what has to be one of the greatest movies about "people doing their jobs." This never yells at the audience about being a masterpiece, but by its conclusion, when it ends with that Donovan song just as it began its odyssey of time passing, people aging, and the dead fading into the past, it's hard to look at it as anything else. The thrill of the hunt lingers even after it ends.
10/10
