Rather than a burst of cinematic energy, 'Mank' is a considered, meticulous, subtle and ultimately furious film, one that continues to grow in your mind hours after seeing it. Even after two viewings, I can still hear my mind chewing over every second, my heart quietly racing as I consider its individual moments of genius. This isn't some nostalgic elegy to a great film or a great artist, but a damning portrait of how systems of power can be misused, and how good men find themselves complicit. It speaks ferociously to our contemporary world, and reminds us of the important role of art in a fun…
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This last week of mine has been one of the most challenging I've ever had since I started this project. Not only due to the number of David Fincher's films (Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network, Gone Girl) I (re)watched in preparation for Mank (plus Citizen Kane), but also because these aren't exactly movies I usually review this quick. Since Zodiac was the only first-watch of this bunch, I was able to surprise myself and fly through the writing process, actually managing to deliver ea…
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A fascinating look about what supposedly went into <em>'Citizen Kane'</em>.
<em>'Mank'</em>, a biopic about screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, is a very good watch. A lot goes on and it's pretty much all interesting to see, admittedly you'd need to have seen the 1941 film. I like that they done this in a non-linear format and in black-and-white, à la in '41.
Kudos to the cast. Gary Oldman (Herman) is impressive, I did feel he was overacting - likewise with Amanda Seyfried (Marion) - just a little bit in parts but for the vast, vast majority he (and she) is top notch. Arliss Howard (Mayer…
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This features another quite impressive, powerful, performance from Gary Oldman as David Fincher uses his stylish and authentic portrayal of the borderline iconoclast Herman J. Mankiewicz to take us on a tour of Hollywood in the 1930s. It's told by way of flashback, as the bed-ridden Oldman is working on his screenplay for "Citizen Kane" and through his frequently drunken hazes we experience much of the politics, bigotry, misogyny, and pretty blatant corruption that prevailed in the upper echelons of the studio system as espoused by the likes of Louis B. Meyer (Arliss Howard); Irving Thalberg (…
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The sequence of events was the reason for repeating the movie and watching it more than once. Never mind if you are not following the history of Hollywood, you will feel weary and bored.
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**Mank (2020)**
_Directed by David Fincher_
This isn't my favorite David Fincher by a mile. To be fair, it's visually awesome; the recreated 1930s Hollywood is well done, shot in meticulous black-and-white that feels like it could have been made in the era it depicts. Fincher's technical mastery is on full display, and Gary Oldman is, as usual, amazing. He is probably the best character actor alive, and he brings Mank to life as a brilliant, acerbic, self-destructive wit navigating studio politics and personal demons with equal cynicism.
The screenplay is great in the sense that Mank …
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