With the release of David Fincher’s “The Killer,” we’re being inundated with lists of the filmmaker’s essential works. The past week, many outlets have been ranking his best films — you have The Wrap, Vulture, The Guardian, The AV Club and Paste all chiming in with their own rankings.
So, what is Fincher’s best film? His filmography includes “Fight Club,” “Se7en,” “The Game,” “Panic Room,” “The Social Network,” “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” and “Gone Girl.”
The holy grail for me is 2007’s “Zodiac” and it’ll be very hard for Fincher to ever top that film. Fincher’s most personal statement to date was a movie about obsession. The unsolved case that lead to this obsession for both of the film's characters, and us the audience. Here Fincher painted a vivid picture of a time and place in late ‘60s and early ‘70s San Francisco when the Zodiac killer was looming free with the police completely puzzled by the case. The film gives us clues, but they don't necessarily lead to evident answers.
What Fincher was most interested in was the atmosphere of dread percolating in California at the time. He should know it, he was just a kid living in the area when the grisly crimes happened — he invariably stages the murder scenes purely based on the evidence and witness testimonials available at the time. His “Zodiac” is a movie to keep you up at night.