Crime Scenes in the Zodiac - Movie Review Example

Crime Scenes in the Movie Zodiac Introduction The movie Zodiac is an interesting film for several different reasons. While it shows how our society reacts to crime, it also shows how the search for the truth and the idea of an unsolved crime can lead people to lose what they have as they seek out the facts. The film brings about a greater understanding of how society seeks to capture criminals and how people react to unknown, intangible threats that are a part of life. While it is not a historic, life altering film, it is certainly thought provoking and quite intelligent which makes it a wonderful film viewing experience. Treatment of Life Directed by David Fichner, the film was released in 2007 and it tells the story of a series of notorious unsolved murders that were committed by the Zodiac Killer during the 1960s. The film is set in the San Francisco Bay Area where the Zodiac Killer was made famous by a string of letters and coded messages sent to newspapers. Despite the wealth of clues or perhaps because of the variety of clues, the murders remained unsolved and the film tells the story of these murders and the attempts made to catch the killer (Bayer, 2007). The first and primary aspect of our life and society that is well treated in the film is the search for answers that often leaves us unsatisfied and seeking a deeper explanation for what is happening in the present or what happened in the past. For example, the 9/11 conspiracy theories are only one example of trying to find what the truth about an event which has been deeply ingrained in the collective subconscious. While the truth remains hidden or even has a shadow of doubt associated with it, the search for the complete truth drives individuals to seek out different explanations. Searching for the Truth This makes the film very thought provoking as clues are uncovered with time and they may be lost, shown to be false leads and even useless in terms of finding the identity of the murderer. Like the detectives in the film, the audience too tries to make sense of what is happening and what meaning can be derived from the messages given by the killer but the truth remains elusive. As a culture, we seek the truth not only in scientific and rational ways but also in philosophical and artistic terms but it is also true that we have not yet discovered the whole truth about ourselves. Just as the crime scenes in the film are full of clues and signs as to what happened so are the events of our history yet the full picture is denied to us since we are unable to solve the mysteries. Of course the need to find answers and to get to the right answer may even become an obsession as it happens to the character of Graysmith. He ends up losing his job and his wife due to his search for the answer and even though he finds some very intriguing clues, the right answer eludes him and the wrong answers lead him to different paths all of which turn out to be false (Sorrento, 2007). In essence, much like the frustrations of life itself, Zodiac makes us think about the frustrations of the art of crime solving. The film makes the viewers think deeply about the crime since most of the detective films or shows on TV neatly wrap up the crime and solve a mystery in the space of a couple of hours or even less (Sorrento, 2007). However, this rather long film goes on several different tangents without giving a satisfying closure since the film does not show who the criminal actually was. Of course there are some hints given to the audience but no direct accusation is made and no solution to the crime can be observed. It does make the viewer think that not all crimes are solved and criminals can get away with what they did but only if they are smart enough to do so. Historical and Artistic Representations Perhaps the significance of the film can also be understood through how the film views the changes that come to American society through the 60s going to the 70s. Crime itself becomes more of a reality for America and perhaps a level of desensitization is obvious as crime is accepted to be a fact of life. Even the role of the police is shown to have changed with more violence and an increased use of force. For example, at a point in the movie, Toschi sees a violent movie where the hero has little regard for the law and comments to himself, “No need for due process, right?”. Of course the film itself was released in 2007 so it is unlikely that it has had any dire or even measureable effects on society in a year but it does seem obvious that the film is a reaction to what was happening in the 60s and the 70s as seen in retrospect (Orr, 2007). Biodrowski (2008) appreciates all that the film has done but comments that it lacks a very important element of what was actually happening during the time the Zodiac Killer raged in the Bay Area. That is, the media reaction which is not given much importance in the film. Undoubtedly, the media would have had some hand in creating the legend of the Zodiac Killer but that part of the social order is largely ignored and the focus of the film remains on the procedures of the police and the investigation done by the reporters of newspapers. The Crime Scenes The opening scene itself passes a sense of doom as we watch the murder take place and the crime investigators examine the scene of the murder as different camera angles, miz en scene and the dialog of the actors come together to give a very realistic picture of what investigation in the 60s would have been like (Holcomb, 2008). Unlike some other crime films, it is the psychological horror of the crime which is presented to the audience rather than the gore and blood which features greatly in other serial killer films. The crime scenes also make it clear that the people who were murdered were not impersonal extras but had a life which had value for them and others around them. This comes, in a great measure, from the photography and the lighting used to create a crime scene while the murderer does his work and afterwards while the police are investigating the crime itself. The different viewpoints and an examination of the scene in the light of day or within the photographs being seen by later detective examinations carries a sense of history with it that shows us that the Zodiac Killer is still at large. The message carried within the film becomes quite clear as the audience feels the same obsession with crime scenes and the evidence gathered at crime scenes as the character of Graysmith. Conclusions While the movie has merit as a cinematic presentaiotn, it is the artistic and the psychological presentation of the crime as well as the criminal that gives it real value. Beyond the simple approach of car chases and blood spilling everywhere, Zodiac takes a different philosophical viewpoint of detective films where the criminal is not caught and all we are left with is a sense of seeking out the truth while dealing with an obsession for the truth. If art itself can be said to be the search for the truth then this film is artistic indeed since it represents life itself to be a search for the truth in terms of the drive of the characters and their intrinsic motivations to catch the Zodiac Killer. Works Cited Bayer, J. 2007, ‘Zodiac’, [Online] Available at: http://thescorecardreview.com/film-reviews/2007/03/02/zodiac/742 Biodrowski, S. 2008. ‘Zodiac’, [Online] Available at: http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2008/01/01/film-review-zodiac/ Holcomb, B. 2008, ‘Zodiac’, [Online] Available at: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/52692/zodiac-the-directors-cut/ Orr, C. 2007, ‘Watching the Detectives’, [Online] Available at: http://www.tnr.com/booksarts/story.html?id=d37f6248-0005-4064-b8e7-0c7c173a8d7d Sorrento, M. 2007, ‘Zodiac’, [Online] Available at: http://filmthreat.com/index.php?section=reviews&Id=10179 Read More