1930s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane.
- Released: 2020-11-13
- Runtime: 132 minutes
- Genre: Drama, History
- Stars: 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, Jack Romano, Adam Shapiro, John Churchill, Jeff Harms, Derek Petropolis, Sean Persaud, Paul Fox, Tom Simmons, Nick Job, Colin Ward, Cooper Tomlinson, Julie Collis, Arlo Mertz, Craig Welzbacher, Jessie Cohen, Desiree Louise, Amie Farrell, Ian Boyd, Jay Villwock, Lou George, John Lee Ames, Bill Nye, Richmond Arquette, David Lee Smith, Mario Di Donato, James Patrick Duffy, Flo Lawrence, Sebastian Faure, Randy Davison, Christian Prentice, Leven Rambin, Rick Pasqualone, Gary Teitelbaum, Eden Wattez, Roslyn Cohn, Mark Fite, John Patrick Jordan, Ben Mankiewicz, Natalie Denise Sperl, Brian Michael Jones, Camille Montgomery, Craig Robert Young, Paul Carafotes, Anne Beyer, Joey Hagler, Sean Donnellan, Stewart Skelton, Malachi Rivers, Keith Barber, Kaytlin Borgen, Madison West, Elvy, Ali Axelrad, Adrienne Evans, Wylie Small, Dana Lyn Baron, Jaclyn Bethany, Cary Christopher, Michelle Twarowska, Kingston Vernes, Jordan Matlock, Anthony Molinari, Daniel Hoffman
- Director: David Fincher
Comments
- dr_clarke_2 - 25 December 2023
Mankiewicz wrote - or co-wrote - a classic of cinema. He may just now have become the subject of another.
After a six year hiatus from filmmaking to concentrate on other products including television, David Fincher returned to directing with 2020's Mank, a biographical drama starring Gary Oldman as Herman J. Mankiewicz, the writer Citizen Kane. Journalist and screenwriter Jack Fincher - the director's late father - wrote the screenplay, which is not entirely without controversy as it embraces a largely debunked view that Orson Welles had no involvement in the screenplay at all. Nevertheless, it remains an engrossing and fascinating slice of cinema.
Fincher is best known for making thrillers, with the odd exception, and superficially at least Mank is a very different beast. It follows Mankiewicz as Welles commissions him to write the script, and follows him as he draws inspiration from his associate William Randolph Hurst (on whose life Citizen Kane was famously based), struggles to write the screenplay in the midst of the alcoholism that eventually killed him, and eventually demands credit for a piece of work he originally agreed to provided uncredited. It's essentially a character piece driven by dialogue, although Fincher's fondness for thrillers is still felt in the form of the political manoeuvring of Hollywood's studio executives and growing concerns about socialism, communism, and the growing threat of war in Europe.
Shot in black and white, it's also a tribute to nineteen-thirties Hollywood, with Fincher paying homage to the look and feel of a movie from that era with impressive results, right from the opening credits which are very reminiscent of films from that period. Ticker-tape style on-screen captions state the dates and locations of different scenes, whilst the sets, props and costumes are impeccably detailed too. More than that however, there's clearly a deliberate attempt to invoke the feel of Citizen Kane, both in the film's non-linear, flashback heavy structure, and in Erik Messerschmidt's cinematography, which intentionally recalls the style of Citizen Kane cinematographer Gregg Toland at times. In addition, Fincher's regular musical collaborators Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed the score in the period style and using only period-authentic instruments; the resulting soundtrack doesn't exactly sound like Bernard Herrmann's score for Citizen Kane, but achieves the same effect in terms of often unsettling mood.
The acting too has a mannered theatricality to the performances that is very true to movies of the time. Gary Oldman is exceptional as Mankiewicz, immersing himself so thoroughly in the role that he is entirely believable, whilst fellow English actor Tom Burke uncannily captures the look and voice of Orson Welles. Charles Dance is excellent as William Randolph Hearst, as are Arliss Howard as Louis B. Mayer, Tom Pelphrey as Herman's level-headed, long-suffering brother Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and Lily Collins is very good as Rita Alexander, Mank's secretary who tries to look after the bed-ridden alcoholic against his considerable resistance. Amanda Seyfried seems every inch the nineteen-thirties' Hollywood starlet as Marion Davies, the much younger partner of Hearst, whom she has come to love, and whose friendship with Mank is strained when he goes ahead with Citizen Kane.
Whilst the film pays homage to Hollywood past, Jack Fincher's often witty script also has plenty of tongue-in-cheek critique of the studio system at the time, some of which may still be relevant today. It's a brilliantly written screenplay: Mankiewicz had a reputation as a great wit, and the highly quotable dialogue reflects that. The film ends on a bittersweet note that sees Mankiewicz accepting his and Welles' Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay) before an end caption reveals that he died twelve years later at the age of 55 from complications of alcoholism. Mankiewicz wrote - or co-wrote - a classic of cinema. He may just now have become the subject of another. - Real_Review - 10 May 2023
A Fine Film That Would Have Been A Better Docu-Series.
I'm a fan of documentaries. Often times, when watching a well-made documentary, I find myself wishing it would be made into a big-budget movie.
'Mank' (2020) is a fine film with a great cast, but is lacking in telling a comprehensive story of the creation of 'Citizen Kane' (1941). Ideally, this would have been a docu-series with an underlying historical reenactment film.
There is a lot going on in this film. In order to truly understand this story, you need to have a working knowledge of the political environment at the time, as well as the 'studio system' of producing films back then. Also, this film has A LOT of characters - most of which are, presumably, real people. A docu-series could have added depth to these characters and made their individual stories more impactful.
A docu-series could have contained 100% of this film, plus more scenes that would be needed to depict the added depth that the interview segments could provide to the setting and the characters.
RealReview Posting Scoring Criteria:
Acting: 1/1;
Casting: 1/1;
Directing: 1/1;
Story: 1/1;
Writing/Screenplay: 1/1;
Total Base Score = 5
Modifiers (+ or -):
Standout Performances: +1 ( Amanda Seyfried );
Total RealReview Rating: 6. - justahunch-70549 - 16 June 2022
Such a disappointment
A David Fincher misfire and an expensive one. It looks good and the subject matter is of interest, but it's ultimately pretty boring with a big cast in which few truly shine. No David Fincher film is without some interest, but this one comes close. One watches it with great eagerness only to be slowly, but steadily, let down. All of its best aspects are technical. - havaei - 3 February 2022
really underrated
I know a lot of people don't like it but it's really underrated but if you learn more about history of cinema Especially Citizen Kane before watching you Have a much more enjoyable experience.
