Mood ghoul

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Zodiac director David Fincher "is not a police-procedural-type guy. He's not a people-type guy. He's a mood ghoul. I don't think he can relate much to moral outrage. What occupies him is how to send you home antsy, unsure of what you've seen but sure it was worse than you think. He gives you the existential willies." -- from New York critic David Edelstein's just-up review.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on February 26, 2007 at 3:41 PM

comment #1

malibugigolo says ...

I'd prefer people to tell me story.
Not tell me a mood.

This is looking more like the indecisive Hollywoodland with each passing day.

I hope not, but that's just the mood I'm getting.

Posted by malibugigolo at February 26, 2007 3:50 PM

comment #2

Mike Schaefer says ...

And Edelstein's review is the *worst* it's gotten so far... Zodiac has 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 85 on Metacritic at this point (yes, I know, it's early).

Posted by Mike Schaefer at February 26, 2007 3:55 PM

comment #3

christian says ...

and that's what i don't like about fincher.

he loves "mood" as much as mann.

people, eh. whatever.

Posted by christian at February 26, 2007 4:14 PM

comment #4

malibugigolo says ...

Plus, after being fooled into seeing another narcissistic paranoid fantasy THE LIVES OF OTHERS (which is always the "mood" when it is based on the lives of self-absorbed writers) I have sworn off all movies about writers/journalists.

Wouldn't you expect a movie about people who are noble newspaper reporters to get good reviews?

Posted by malibugigolo at February 26, 2007 5:02 PM

comment #5

The Movie Man says ...

I don't know guys, someone trying to make an epic film in the key of Pakula about one of the most famous serial killers of all time sounds promising to me.

Of course, I said the same thing about SUMMER OF SAM several years ago, and I was certainly eating my words on that one.

Posted by The Movie Man at February 26, 2007 5:12 PM

comment #6

MASON says ...

I really dug it.

About the only complete pan I've seen was Poland's.

Should be interesting to see how the public receives it.

Posted by MASON at February 26, 2007 5:14 PM

comment #7

JD says ...

malibugigolo, what is with your determination to compare Zodiac to Hollywoodland? I'm not feeling/seeing any parallel whatsoever, other than the most obvious and superficial. David Fincher vs. Allen Coulter is not a fair fight.

Posted by JD at February 26, 2007 5:15 PM

comment #8

The Movie Man says ...

I would file HOLLYWOODLAND in the means well but ultimately kind of boring category. I don't mind the inconclusive ending, my problem was that NOTHING in the picture was particularly dramatic, especially the Adrien Brody portion. As I said, not awful, but I have no interest to watch it again.

Posted by The Movie Man at February 26, 2007 5:20 PM

comment #9

Geoff says ...

Uh yeah. I'm going to go way out on a limb here and say that Zodiac will be nothing like Hollywoodland.

Posted by Geoff at February 26, 2007 5:35 PM

comment #10

malibugigolo says ...

I thought Coulter did an admirable job with the HOLLYWOODLAND script that was a good read but not cinematic in the least, much like the ZODIAC script, way too much talking, which is fine, and then your trying to bring in a visual aesthetic of "fear" to try to make it cinematic, he must because as is, most of it, doesn't not connote fear, it reads like an analytical
detective novel. Fincher is talented. Way talented. I haven't read the script based on Fitzgerald story about the guy aging backwards, but that sounds much more cinematic, and I have a feeling that will be a cinematic story fit to be told by the extremely visually talented Fincher. Eric Roth+ David Fincher sounds awesome. Look what happened when Mann, (as Christian notes a mood guy, too) worked with Roth, you get THE INSIDER.

Just my wooden nickle.

Posted by malibugigolo at February 26, 2007 5:41 PM

comment #11

jeffmcm says ...

To all you people who are complaining about just wanting stories and not mood: it's called a book. Go read one (but beware, fiction can occasionally veer away from what-happens-next too).

Posted by jeffmcm at February 26, 2007 6:42 PM

comment #12