Film studies essay

1. David Fincher Analysis – Zodiac
Scene analysis
Zodiac is a 2007 American mystery-thriller film directed by David Fincher. It is a
true story based on Robert Graysmith’s non fiction book “Zodiac”. The film tells
the story of a long search for a notorious serial killer who called himself
“Zodiac”, who's murders took place around the San Fransisco Bay area between
the 1960s and early 1970s. He taunted the police by sending letters and ciphers.
The case remains one of the most infamous unsolved crimes. The scene from
Zodiac i am analysing is the “basement” scene, where Graysmith, meets up with
Bob Vaughn, who knows one of their main suspects for the Zodiac murders, Rick
Marshall. Bob pulls up in a car when they first meet, and Graysmith suggests they
go to a coffee shop but Bob insists on going to his house. Bob’s face is first seen in
dark lighting in his car giving him a shady appearance (source 1 in bibliography).
He is already inviting a stranger to come to his house, which would appear to be
strange to the audience, as well as his shadowy mysterious figure in the car,
giving him a suspicious first impression. As they converse, you can still see all of
Graysmith’s face and he has a brighter appearance (source 2), because the
viewer already knows everything about this character and there is nothing
mysterious about him. He then follows Bob to his house in his own car.
When they walk through the front door, there is a noticeable mirror next to it.
Graysmith is very briefly shown but is covered by the sheer door curtain,
however Bob is fully shown in the mirror (source 3), creating a double of himself
and suggesting there may more to know about this character. The motif of
mirrors in films are usually used to suggest another side of a character, and the
idea of mirroring themselves. Doubling can also be found in Stanley Kubrick’s
The Shining, to show the character of Jack Torrance becoming another version of
himself and losing his state of mind.
During Graysmith and Bob’s conversation that takes place in the kitchen, diegetic
sound of rain can be heard from outside. Rainy or stormy weather is often used
to create a mood or set a scene, particularly in horror films, when a bad event is
about to happen. This scene also takes place at night. The two in conjunction
adds a creepy atmosphere and suggests that Graysmith may get more than he
bargained for when visiting Bob’s home. There are many dark tones and colours
used that also represent the eerie mood, and the colour scheme of Bob’s house is
just beige, brown, and orange colours, making it appear very dull and plain.
Graysmith tells Bob that he suspects Rick Marshall as being the zodiac because
his handwriting on a poster is the closest match they found to the letters he sent.
Bob tells him that Rick didn’t do them, he did them himself and that it his own
writing. Graysmith’s panic visibly begins to rise (source 4), and the audience
shares his exact feeling at this point. Bob then invites him to come down to his
basement to provide him with more information, and the tension continues to
build. As Bob walks behind him about to enter the basement, he is standing, as he
has been through all of the scene that takes place in his house, while Graysmith
sits, making him look smaller.(source 5). This shows Bob has the power, as the
investigator feels trapped and becomes panicked inside the home of a complete

2. stranger with no power. A low angle is used on a shot of Bob to show he is in a
more powerful position, and again the dark and moody lighting is used to
complete the creepy and tense atmosphere (source 6), and to create the feeling
that something isn’t right. A close up shows the reaction and panic on
Graysmith’s face (source 7). Down in the basement, the dark shadows, dull
colour palette, and use of contrast continues. While Bob is talking to Graysmith
about the film he made, “The Most Dangerous Game”, he hears footsteps from
above, and the camera pans towards his face in a close up, to show his concern
and panic. He looks up towards the ceiling, which draws the viewers attention to
where the sound is coming from. He asks Bob “are you sure theres nobody else in
the house?” which clarifies that he heard the noise of someone else in the
building. As Graysmith races up the stairs, the diegetic sound of a kettle whistling
is used to build tension and make his “escape” more intense. He finds that he
can’t open the front door because it is locked, and Bob appears behind him, in the
mirror again (source 8). He appears suddenly as if he has a kind of ghostly
presence, and a slight non-diegetic sound effect is used when he appears, to
emphasise this. What can be said about these two characters can also be shown
from the clothes they are wearing. Bob is wearing a dull dark green coloured
cardigan, which almost blends him into his house. Graysmith is also wearing
dark colours, but the inside of his jacket has some bright blue showing. The
colour green can be associated with a ghostly aura, whereas blue has
connotations of life and calmness. These colours can be used to represent the
opposing characters.
Themes
One of the themes that many of Fincher’s films include, is mystery, as well as
crime. The theme of mystery is present throughout the film, as the whole
narrative is about trying to uncover the identity of the Zodiac killer, and it
remains unsolved because they never come to a conclusion. The mystery is
constantly spun as more clues are added, from the letters the killer send to the
police and also the ciphers the team try to decode. The characters think they
have a lead on a suspect, but new information can contradict it entirely, and
bring them on to suspect another person. For example, Graysmith and Inspector
Toschi are convinced a man named Rick Marshall is the Zodiac, but a someone
who is the sister of one of the Zodiac’s victims, who happened to know a
suspicious man who could be the killer, tell’s Graysmith his name was Lee/Leigh.
This takes them back and raises their suspicion of Arthur Leigh Allen. The plot is
constantly twisting, which keeps the audience invested in the film, as more
mysteries are added to the story. Many of Fincher’s films include the themes of
murder, violence and crime. Another one of the films he has directed, Se7en, is
about two detectives trying to hunt down a serial killer, which has a similar
concept to Zodiac. In his film Gone Girl, the audience knows there is no murder
mystery, but the story follows a husband trying to claim his innocence, while his
wife is framing him for her murder that she set up. Another theme that Fincher
seems to gravitate towards in his films, is the theme of obsession. In Zodiac,
Graysmith becomes hugely obsessed with trying to find out the identity of the

3. zodiac killer. The viewer is shown how much it has taken over his life, because he
loses marriage and kids from it, yet he brushes it off and seems unaffected by it
because he is so invested in this case. As the film goes on, he gets deeper and
deeper into his obsession. The theme of obsession is also present in Gone Girl,
with the determination to find Amy Dunne, and figure out what happened to her.
Many people are determined to show that Nick is guilty for murdering his wife,
while he is trying his hardest to prove he is innocent. There is also the aspect of
Amy’s ex boyfriend, Desi Collings, having an obsession with her and being
possessive, which is made a significant point in the film.
Auteur analysis
Fincher’s work often involves characters solving mysteries, and the use of
media to exploit and spin the mystery. This is shown in Zodiac, as after
every murder, the zodiac killer sends letters to a newspaper company, as
he wants them to publish the letters, to make himself known to the public.
The killer also leaves clues in code for them to solve the mystery. This is
largely shown in Gone Girl, as the character Nick Dunne is framed for the
murder of his wife, and is filmed and photographed for television, where
news hosts make their own lies and assumptions about him which leads
him into more trouble. The story also circulates around the internet and
Nick’s awkward behaviour with the situation is interpreted by the media
as characteristics of a sociopath who would have the ability to kill his
wife. Nick’s wife Amy leaves clues for him and the investigators to follow,
which spins the mystery and spirals the plot, which is reminiscent of
Zodiac.
A theme that is commonly present in Fincher’s films is obsession. Zodiac
revolves around people trying catch the murderer, and as the film goes
on, they become more obsessed with him. This bares resemblance to
another one of Fincher’s films, Se7en, which revolves around two
detectives trying to catch a murderer. The murderer in Se7en carries out
his killings using the Seven Deadly Sins, and the zodiac killer sends clues,
which adds to the plot and spins the mystery and obsession of solving
these crimes. Piecing together the puzzles in these films are more
intriguing than the bigger picture.
As well as the content of the film, Fincher’s auteur signatures are also
seen in his camerawork and on screen and he has a distinct visual style.
Low key lighting and stark use of green/blue colour palette and shadows
are used in his method of storytelling and to drive the film, and also
convey different character traits. For example, cool blue lighting is used to
show the character of Nick Dunne in the beginning (source 9), to tell the
audience he is a shady character and we should be wary of him from the
start. This lighting dominates many of his scenes and to remind the
viewer he is not completely innocent (source 10). Fincher uses this to
make him seem like more of an enemy to people in the film. Nick’s cool
blue lighting contrasts with Amy’s orange palette, since she is seen in a

4. warmer light and more of a positive character (source 11). This is done to
manipulate the audience, as in the second half of the film, the character’s
true nature is revealed as she is seen as the villain in the film. This type of
colour palette is also shown in Zodiac, for example in the opening, two
murder victims Michael Mageau and Darlene Ferrin, are shown in a
warmer colour, to show they are innocent people. They are shown bright
when the zodiac shines the torch on them (source 12). When the zodiac
killer is first shown, we don’t see most of him and we don’t know what he
looks like because he is engulfed with darkness, his gun is what we first
see, as he points it at his victims (source 13). This represents his evil and
sinister character. These techniques are commonly used in his films, as
his entire body of work is consistent with the development of an auteur.
Genre analysis
Zodiac employs many elements present within the mystery-thriller genre.
It also contains elements of the horror genre and iconography, and these
include the weapons the zodiac killer uses to kill his victims. During the
first attack we see in the opening of the film on the victims Michael
Mageau and Darlene Ferrin while they are in a car, the killer uses a 9mm
Luger and it is in fact the first thing we see clearly of him when it is
pointed right at the victims (see source 13). Straight away the audience
sees that he is a cold blooded and evil character with cruel intentions. The
gun weapon is a conventional weapon used in gangster movies, and it
allows killings to be done from a distance, so the killer doesn’t have to be
near the victim or have to be seen. However, the murder was done quite
close range as he was right outside the car window, and he even goes
back to shoot them a second time to ensure they die, which adds to the
sadistic nature of the killer. In a murder later on in the film, he kills Bryan
Calvin Hartnell and Cecelia Ann Shepard. The Zodiac threatens them with
the conventional gun weapon but instead kills them by stabbing them to
deaf using a knife. The knife is conventional in slasher horror films, and
has connotations of messy blood and gore and slashing movements, and it
allows Sourcethe killer to have close contact with the victims.
Zodiac fits into the mystery-thriller genre, as it revolves around a serial
killer who’s real name is unknown so his identity remains a mystery, and
goes by the name of “Zodiac”. He leaves clues, such as his cryptograms,
which detectives are determined to solve, which drives the whole story,
and this is a convention of many mystery films. The audience doesn’t
know that much about the character of the Zodiac, and there is no
backstory or proper explanation for any of this killings. The film is not
interested in the inner motivations of the killer, and the murders are
oblique and deadpan and quick. Also, since the victims don’t have a lot of
screen time and we don’t know much about them, there is not much
sympathy for them.

5. Context
The film Zodiac is set in 1969, and is based on the book by Robert Graysmith,
who is an American true crime author, and he is best known for working on the
Zodiac Killer case. Between the 1960s-1970s, an unidentified serial killer,
nicknamed the “Zodiac killer” operated in northern California murdering victims
in Benicia, Vallejo, Lake Berrynessa and San Fransisco, and 4 men and 3 women
between the ages of 16 and 29 were targeted. The killer sent many taunting letters
to the local Bay Area press, the first one being on August 7, 1969, where he first
identified with the name “Zodiac”. The letters included four cryptograms, and
only one of them has been definitely solved. He threatened that his letters get
printed on each paper’s front page, or he would do more killing over the weekend.
The Zodiac claimed 37 murders in letters to the newspapers, however
investigators agree on only 7 confirmed victims, 2 of whom survived. Some of the
victims and killings were showed in the film, including Michael Mageau and
Darlene Ferrin, Bryan Calvin Hartnell and Cecelia Ann Shepard, and Paul Lee
Stine. Many suspects have been named by law enforcement and investigation, but
there is no conclusive evidence. The San Fransisco Police Department marked the
case as “inactive” in April 2004, yet re-opened the case prior to March 2007. The
case currently remains Vallejo, Napa County, and Solano County. After many
years of work, Robert Graysmith published a book about the case, called Zodiac:
The Full Story of the Infamous Unsolved Zodiac Murders in California, on
February 1, 1986.