Review of Mank (2020) by Jluis_001 — 05 Dec 2020

There had been a lot of talk about Mank not being to the liking of many, and frankly I didn't understand why.

After seeing it, I keep wondering why, because to my knowledge, any serious movie fan will watch it easily.

Mank is Fincher at the top of his game. It's not his best film by any means, but it's a film that shows a director in total control of his film, and who risked leaving a comfort zone.

I must admit that it's not the masterpiece I was waiting for and it's not as incisive as I thought it would be, but still, I judge the results and not my expectations, and Mank is a film that obsesses and fascinates, although it also makes the mistake of overreaching.

I blamed this on the fact that the script was a personal project and that's why Fincher, despite his ambition, doesn't deliver a film that lives up to its premise.

In the acting field, once again Gary Oldman proves to be one of the best actors of his generation and perhaps in history.

If I was told that he deserved to win the Oscr for this movie instead of Darkest Hour, I would easily confirm it.

The surprise here is Amanda Seyfried, who while she doesn't deliver that impressive performance I've read about, she definitely delivers the best she has done in many years, if not in her entire career.

I augur her a nomination for best supporting actress in the awards season.

Ultimately Mank is a story about Hollywood for Hollywood. A dream come true for Fincher.

A fascinating but unspectacular film.

* I was going to give it a 7 stars, but I decided 8 because of the huge production work and the elegance of its cinematography.

And the magnificent music of course. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross finally tried something very different, and got out from the ambient and electronic sound that has characterized them throughout their career as film composers.