The Order
I disengaged around 40 min, during the second bar scene. The dialogue became painfully anachronistic, undermining the film’s historical grounding that I couldn't sit straight for another second.
And to throw salt in the wound... the dialogues.
The film’s central issue is its failure to convincingly capture the 1970s. It’s not so much the performances, but the body language that never aligns with the period. Oddly, the narrative might have felt more authentic if it were set in the present.
Speaking of body language, after watching Zodiac countless times, one gesture stands out. Robert Downey Jr., after leaving Graysmith’s desk and being called to the editor’s office, delivers the line 'Yes, Tempelton. Very well' — and that walk? Straight out of the ’70s. Unmistakable.
