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Ripped from forgotten headlines, Zodiac is an exhilarating, exhausting slice of true crime cinema. It's based on the 70s Zodiac murders, a series of (still) unsolved crimes by a publicity-hungry killer who goaded reporters and cops with cryptic ciphers about his identity. Director David Fincher (Se7en) orchestrates the proceedings with obsessive compulsiveness, concentrating on the nitty-gritty of investigative procedure and delivering serial killer cinema's answer to All The President's Men.

Zodiac killed his first victims on a deserted lovers' lane. Fincher shoots the crime with a disturbing matter-of-factness that sets the tone just right. Forget the baroque slayings of Se7en, this is a film grounded in a messy, brutal reality. Following cops and hacks as they collate the facts, Zodiac charts how people lost their lives (both literally and metaphorically) to this manipulative killer. Leading the pack of lost souls are geeky San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Gyllenhaal), alcoholic hack Paul Avery (Downey Jr.) and careworn cop David Toschi (Ruffalo), each obsessed with capturing the gloating psycho.

"TERRIFICALLY CONFIDENT SENSE OF PURPOSE"

Fincher is on top form: this is his best, most mature film yet. Overloading us with the minutiae of evidence (fingerprints, I.D. parades, witness statements), Zodiac becomes a cryptic, headache inducing puzzle-box (warning: bring aspirin). It's also wryly ironic, the period setting raising bigger questions about the information age as the cops are hampered by a lack of faxes, bad filing systems and no cell phones. Bolstered by superb performances, eye-catching digital camerawork and a terrifically confident sense of purpose, this is the closest cinema has ever come to the realities of the investigative process. Don't expect action; do expect a grown-up, provocative film that invites you to engage your brain. Compelling? Scarily so.

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Zodiac is released in UK cinemas on Friday 18th May 2007.