Mank

I get that Mank was David Fincher's way of fulfilling a dream for his late father by bringing his screenplay to life—a love letter to a time when Hollywood was at its peak, filled with actors, booze, and the chaos of an industry in full swing. And sure, Mank himself was no stranger to all of that. But honestly, the film felt a little too nostalgic for me. Over the course of two hours, so much happens, but you're given very little explanation, and the black-and-white aesthetic, paired with endless dialogue, made it hard to stay fully engaged. That said, Gary Oldman is incredible, especially in his drunken scenes, which are truly the highlight of his performance. I also really enjoyed Arliss Howard as MGM's Louis B. Mayer—he had limited screen time, but he absolutely made it count. And Charles Dance, as the powerful William Randolph Hearst, barely needed to say anything to command respect. Mank definitely has its shining moments, but overall, it's a dense, dialogue-heavy film that requires a lot of attention. By the end, I was struggling to keep up, but I’ll admit, the finale is a solid payoff. (22/12/2020)

A formally precise and linguistically exquisite picture about the writing of the screenplay for Citizen Kane. Unfortunately, apart from context of that period, it offers nothing new. Filming according to his father’s screenplay, Fincher nurtured all aspects of this heart-felt project and the way he presents the topic in the style of a forties movie is very appropriate. You can’t tell the difference. The actors are great down to the last one. The music is perfect: Reznor and Russ are brutally moderate, obediently serving the story. But it was strange to listen to Trent’s typical piano playing in a movie that clearly must have been filmed eighty years ago... (06/12/2020)

A bitingly sharp drama on the politics, wealth, and rising awareness of Hollywood moguls' influence over public opinion. At its core, Mank is about singular minds—brilliant, socially aware, with sharp tongues and reflective hearts—who, with their moral clarity and wit, are exactly the kind of people that those in power don’t want around. This makes them, in the end, the unheeded voices, the sarcastic outliers, nearly alone but for a few brave friends, and always teetering on the edge of self-destruction. The alcoholism? Like for many, it’s not the cause of their downfall, but a byproduct of the external forces pushing them there. Gary Oldman captures Mankiewicz's entire complex persona with absolute mastery. This film dives into all the scheming, mistakes, weaknesses, regrets, betrayals, shifting alliances, and restless nights of those caught in the middle. I found Citizen Kane frustrating (though I’ll give it another go after all these years), likely because of the very dissection that’s hinted at here—the transformation of a vivid inspiration into a rigid, didactic screenplay. But this layered look into the era of its creation is deeply satisfying. And now I’ll definitely never mix up Upton Sinclair with Sinclair Lewis again. (17/11/2023)

Like Nolan, Finch this year has taken on an overwrought variation of his fetish beyond the parameters of viewer-friendly cinema. Mank is his Grand Hollywood Retro-Spectacle. Or rather his now-deceased dad, who was born during the period depicted and whose screenplay was sitting in David’s drawer, waiting for the benevolent Netflix. The enchantment of the visionary entrepreneurialism of the Hollywood studio bosses, high-society parties and debates in the opulent halls of luxury mansions, and an intimate portrait of a gifted screenwriter who was more of an outsider alcoholic despite his eccentricity and constant presence in the circles of kindred professionals. Though all of this may sound wonderful and appealing (and it’s also incredibly authentically executed cinematically), the result is problematic. Fincher interweaves the film’s world with the politics of the given setting and period, which viewers aren’t interested in, jumping around in time and between characters that he says little or nothing about and, in the dishevelled narrative, only barely manages to concentrate on the motivations of the main character, whom the whole film is supposed to be about. It is wonderfully entertaining in some individual aspects (a visit to the studios and an exterior set) and evokes a mature creative cleverness, but elsewhere it is boring with its pointlessness and empty dialogue. The character of William Hearst (Charles Dance), who was supposedly Mank’s inspiration for writing Citizen Kane, is sidelined here and no intellectual parallel is drawn between Welles’s and Fincher’s films. The moods, poses and opinions that are stuffed into this evidently artistically ambitious work will certainly please a few academics, historians, film buffs and political scientists all rolled into one, but I prefer the more narratively refined and stimulating pieces in this mold – whether the cynically intellectual (Altman’s The Player) or simply heartfelt (Burton’s Ed Wood). Of the actors, Arliss Howard comes closest to earning an Oscar for his excellent portrayal of L.B. Mayer. The walk around MGM with his emotive monologue is one of the movie scenes of the year. “This is the business where the buyer gets nothing for his money but a memory. What he bought still belongs to the man who sold it. That’s the real magic of the movies.” (13/12/2020)

To be clear, Mank is an absolutely masterfully crafted piece that could and should be quoted in film science textbooks. It is a work of a director who has a personal connection to the subject due to the adaptation of his father's screenplay, a project he pursued for many years. Similar to Alfonso Cuarón with his piece Roma, this esteemed creator at Netflix was given complete freedom and made it exactly how he wanted it for a very niche audience. And I, despite being happy that one of my top 3 favorite directors finally made a film after a few years, was not particularly drawn to the theme from the start, so I simply had to "endure" it only for him. Personally, I would prefer more "mainstream" pieces (which are part of the golden fund of world cinema), and I am quite frightened by his four-year contract with Netflix about which Fincher says that if Mank succeeds, he will continue making his favorite black-and-white pieces. PS: I am quite curious how good Kevin Spacey would have been in the role he was originally cast for... 70% (05/12/2020)