1930s Hollywood
is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing wit and alcoholic screenwriter
Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish "Citizen Kane."
Director: David
Fincher
Cast: Gary
Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Tom Pelphrey, Sam
Troughton, Ferdinand Kingsley, Tuppence Middleton, Tom Burke, Joseph Cross,
Jamie McShane, Toby Leonard Moore, Monika Gossmann, Charles Dance
Release Date: November
13, 2020
Genre: Biography,
Comedy, Drama
Rated R for
some language
Runtime: 2 h 11
min
Review:
David Fincher’s Mank is a labor of love through and through. Written by Fincher’s late father, it has been a passion project of Fincher’s since the late 90’s when he intended to film it after 1997’s The Game. The fact that it has made its way to the screen after so much time is a testament to Fincher and the result is technically impressive and rather engaging especially for people who enjoy a bit of cinematic history. Fincher gives the film a distinctive style by using cues and techniques in line with the golden age of cinema. The dialogue also has a snappy back, and forth which make the film sing with a certain kind of lyricism. It is a fascinating bit of cinematic alchemy which recalls 2011 Academy Award winning film, The Artist, where style is part of the character of the film. It rises about that film with a stronger cast who are clearly having a blast in their roles. Gary Oldman leads the film with great gusto using a voice inflection that sounds like Burgess Meredith in the Twilight Zone in the 50’s. Oldman’s Mank is always the smartest man in the room, even when it is to his detriment. The snappy dialogue flows naturally from Oldman as you follow this fascinating if somewhat tragic tale, he generally the most interesting person on screen but that is not to say his supporting cast isn’t more than up to the cast. Amanda Seyfried turns in one of her best performances here, totally losing herself in the role. She’s generally a capable actress but he she just seems far more committed than usual. Charles Dance makes for a formidable Randolph Hearst but his scenes are few and far in between. Similarly, I would have enjoyed a bit more screen time for Tom Burke’s Orsen Welles whose one scene with Oldman’s Mank is a late act treat. Whether that interaction or any of them ever happened in real life is left up to the more dedicated viewer to research. If there is a failing here is that’s while we follow Mank’s journey through his memories we are always kept at an emotional distance so that when the final scene plays you don’t feel the emotional punch as intended.
B
