Shot in a glorious, rich grey-range palette of black and white, David Fincher's film starring Gary Oldman as screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz is a--well, not a love letter to Hollywood as Hollywood is fond of dubbing films that look back at its own history, and not really a bitter poison pen letter, but more of an examination of Old (and who knows, probably Current) Hollywood with all of its treachery, manipulative moguls, infighting, and influence of the political landscape.
We follow screenwriter Mankiewicz (Mank as he likes to be called) as he writes the screenplay for Orson Welles' legendary film "Citizen Kane." Holed up at the North Verde Ranch near the Mojave Desert, kept away from his beloved alcohol by a secretary and nurse, he toils away creating something that would forever change the film world and the way directors and cinematographers make films. We often jump back in time to fill in gaps of the story, much the way "Citizen Kane" does. And that is not the only nod to that classic: much of the framing, lighting, and camera work is a breathtaking homage to some of the deep focus work of "Kane" cinematographer Gregg Toland.
Gary Oldman is brilliant as Mank, with a stunning, casual way of dropping drunken wit in a vocal delivery pitch prefect for the period. Charles Dance is perfection as William Randolph Hearst, and Arliss Howard is beautifully weaselly as studio head Louis B. Mayer. But it's the women--Amanda Seyfried as Hearst's wife Marion Davies, Lily Collins as Rita Alexander, Herman's secretary, and Tuppence Middleton as Mank's wife Sara Mankiewicz--who shine despite the fact that their characters are not developed and their roles are smaller. But what's new, right? Well, it is Mank's story after all. Maybe someday someone will make a film from Marion or Sara's points of view. But until then, we have this brilliant slice of Hollywood history, even though it tells the story of the "Kane" script from a rather one-sided view, supporting film journalist Pauline Kael's assertion that Welles did not deserve any writing credit. While the real-life process of writing the script was laborious and a little fraught, it seems all parties contributed (unlike what we see in this film), despite Mank threatening to go to the Screen Writer's Guild to file for credit. Turns out there was no need as Welles happily gave him first billing on that title card.
Recommend? YES! Gorgeous to watch (take a peek at the trailer below) and superb performances!
https://www.netflix.com/title/81117189
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