Zodiac'

Runtime: 157min 31secs
Tagline: There's more than one way to lose your life to a killer.
Directed by: David Fincher
Screenplay by: James Vanderbilt

Plot Outline
Based on the Robert Graysmith books about the real life notorious Zodiac, a serial killer who terrorized San Francisco with a string of seemingly random murders during the 1960s and 1970s who taunts the police with letters and cryptic messages. We follow the investigators and reporters in this lightly fictionalized account of the true 1970's case as they search for the murderer, becoming obsessed with the case, the focus is the lives and careers of the detectives and newspaper people, including one cartoonist (Jake Gyllenhall) who also becomes quite involved with the investigation. Interestingly, this cartoonist is the character of the writer of the novel that the film is based on.

Overal Impressions:
If you don't particularly like these murder thriller type films, I think it will still keep you interested, up to a point, but in the end you may find it a little long. On the flip-side within the genre it's done pretty damned well.

Obviously in my case I found it even more interesting because the principal character is a writer. Following him through his journey of what in the end becomes a book is quite an interesting process. Although it's his obsession into the events that forces the writer out of him rather than the other way round. It easily reflects the obsessive behavior when a writer gets lost in the creative process.

Highly recommend to the crime thriller fans, writers, just about anyone who gets a little obsessed with their jobs, they can take over your life.