Review of Mank (2020) by Moviemitch96 — 23 Nov 2020

In this film from director David Fincher ('Fight Club', 'The Social Network', and 'Gone Girl' to name a few), and from a screenplay written by his late father Jack Fincher, Gary Oldman portrays Herman J.

Mankiewicz, and outcast alcoholic screenwriter who finds himself clashing with filmmaker Orson Welles while attempting to write the screenplay for 'Citizen Kane' (which today is known as one of the greatest films of all-time).

Mank seemingly puts his whole career and even his sanity on the line as he tries to exercise as much credit and control of the story as he can alongside Welles. First off, this film is straight up brilliant! Everything about it is just so well-done and impressive! The entire film felt, looked, and sounded like an old film from the 40s to the point where I mostly forgot I was watching a modern-day film, what with the grainy black-and-white picture, the scratchy sound, and even the reel change dots (or cigarette burns) in the corner during many of the scene changes.

It was entirely filmed on an old-fashioned Panavision camera as well. And when it comes to Fincher films, the man has a pretty respectable track record, as you can always count on excellent storytelling and performances, with a screenplay full of quick-witted and razor-sharp dialogue, and a stellar cast to compliment it.

Gary Oldman once again knocks it out of the park in the titular role, giving an abrasive yet sometimes oddly charming performance, and Amanda Seyfried is a dream to watch as classic film actress Marion Davies.

As solid as the film's story is, the narrative seemed to stray for me a little bit in the second half, what with a decent number of flashbacks, but the film never lost its footing or sense of direction too much.