Whenever I hear people talking about what an obsessive perfectionist director David Fincher is, I always remember a rather brilliant quote Jack Nicholson said about Stanley Kubrick - “Just because you’re a perfectionist doesn’t mean you’re perfect.”
Fincher is an excellent craftsman with a strong vision, but when it comes to emotion and pacing, he’s sorely lacking. At their best, his films are icy but unique - at their worst, they’re sluggish and uninvolving. The Game and Panic Room are prime examples of this - a journeyman director would have done a far better job on both films.
That being said - as a true crime fan, I enjoyed Zodiac for the very reasons that other people might find it tiresome. It’s a procedural, not a serial killer / horror film. The script is preoccupied not with the killings themselves, but with the investigation and the men who were involved. Those expecting Silence Of The Lambs will be sorely disappointed - this film has far more in common with All The President’s Men. So in this instance, Fincher’s cold, understated style works perfectly.
In my book, it’s his best film - perhaps not as engrossing as Seven or as clever as Fight Club, but it captures a time, a place, and a grisly chapter in American history quite beautifully.