Film: Mank

GENRE: Drama
RATING: R for some language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 11 minutes
PLATFORM: Netflix
STARRING: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour, Tinker,Tailor,Soldier,Spy)
Amanda Seyfried (Mean Girls, Les Mis), Lily Collins (Mirror, Mirror)
DIRECTOR: David Fincher (Social Network, Seven, Gone Girl)
WRITER: Jack Fincher (newcomer)
PLOT: Herman Mankiewicz races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane while having flashbacks to his drunken 1930’s Hollywood days.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Second time watching & found more that I liked.

STORY STUFF: I like a good behind-the-scenes Hollywood origin story (like Chaplin). I’m a big fan of Citizen Kane and having researched and listened to a number of commentaries, I was always impressed with how this “greatest film of all time” got made. David Fincher, working off a script from his late father, gives us another behind-the-scenes perspective. I love seeing these moments in Mank’s relationships with the Hollywood elite that make their way into Kane’s script. The dialogue is extremely clever. I even watched it with subtitles so I could fully appreciate the precise word choices. I found the politics angle a little long and wished there was more about movie production but I still found it to be a compelling story.     

ACTING STUFF: Oldman plays a fantastic drunk. He commands every scene he is in with his staggered walk and clever mouth. Seyfried also shines as Marion Davies. I’m glad she also got nominated but wish there were more scenes with her. The supporting class is very sharp. I love the pomposity of Arliss Howard as Louis B Mayer; his speech about the rules of MGM is a definite highlight. I also enjoyed the characterizations of Joe Mankiewicz (Tom Pelphrey), Irving Thalberg (Ferdinand Kingsley) and Orson Welles (Tom Burke).

ARTISTIC STUFF: Fincher made some awesome stylistic choices in this film. This is definitely an homage to Citizen Kane. The black and white is sharp and really sets the stage. There are number of angles that have that Kane vibe – the dropping of the alcohol bottle nicely matches the dropping of the snowglobe without going too far. Fincher’s go to musicians, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, also imitate some of the music cues from Bernard Hermann’s original score. The choice that bothered me for this film was the tinny sound of the dialogue. Fincher ADR’d the dialogue at a sound stage which gives off an auditorium sort of feel. It sounds okay indoors, especially Hearst’s mansion, but outdoors sounds awkward and fake. It’s a gimmicky idea that doesn’t work for me.

VERDICT: Four and half stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You like old Hollywood and/or Citizen Kane
UPCOMING REVIEW: More Oscar films