I Am Not Avery: Robert Downey Jr. in <i>Zodiac</i>

I Am Not Avery: Robert Downey Jr. in Zodiac

"Uh, an editorial tête-à-tête. Wanna grab a drink?"

Whenever things go south on the job, I quote that line of dialogue from David Fincher's masterpiece, Zodiac (2007), which dramatizes the infamous, unsolved serial murders in Northern California in the 1970s, attributed to the Zodiac Killer.

The dialogue belongs to Paul Avery, a rogue scamp of sorts, played brilliantly by Robert Downey Jr. in a performance that should be considered one of his career best. Unfortunately, we don't seem to talk enough about just how good he is in the film. So, let's, shall we?

As a sarcastic, cynical, and disgraced reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, Avery starts the film in a professional and personal funk, exacerbated by his being a highly functional alcoholic. Then he finds a new purpose, a path towards redemption, through the paper's political cartoonist Robert Graysmith's (Jake Gyllenhaal) obsession with the Zodiac case. What follows is Downey and Gyllenhaal working long days and nights to solve the macabre riddles in chilling letters the Zodiac killer keeps sending to Avery's attention. Downey masterfully shows us the psychological toll receiving these missives is taking on him.

Eventually, the murders stop, many of the leads on potential suspects dry up, and by the 1980s, Avery's close to rock bottom again, having seemingly given up on both a once-promising career and even life itself. It's a tragic arc, made all the more painful because of the very real spark of hope Downey brings to Avery's dedication to the case. Downey plays Avery as lighter on his feet during these scenes, firing off sardonic quips and barbs with aplomb, offering a glimpse of the Avery that once was and might've been again, had he and his investigative partners at the paper and the San Francisco PD ever found the killer.

Downey has always been one of our most charismatic performers, and Zodiac allowed him to riff off his natural charm and magnetism. Plus, he probably understood Paul Avery better than most, having gone through his own addictions and fall from grace. It doesn't really matter that the real Avery didn't crash and burn after the Zodiac case, because Fincher's artistic license affords Downey the opportunity to really sink his teeth into a performance that symbolizes just how much the case devastated the lives of all involved, from victims to law enforcement to newspaper journalists.

From dark comedy to depressive heartbreak, it's one of Downey's most indelible performances, the sort that only grows in stature with time and repeat viewings.

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