If you consider yourself to be a fan of cinema, particularly classic cinema, you must be familiar with Citizen Kane (1941), a film which is often referred to by many as one of the greatest achievements in filmmaking.
When Netflix announced that American filmmaker David Fincher was going to make a biographical drama about the story behind the creation of Citizen Kane with Gary Oldman as the main star, movie fans were thrilled. The result is Mank, a 190-minute, cinematically rich, luscious, black and white film which accurately captures the so-called Golden Age of Hollywood. However, at the same time, Mank also presents itself as a very kind of niche film and probably is not everyone's cup of tea.
The premise of Mank is quite simple. It stars Oscar-winner Gary Oldman who plays legendary social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz immediately after a car accident in 1940. While recovering from a broken leg, he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane so that he can submit it in time to director Orson Welles.
Besides the crime series Mindhunter, it's been six years since we have seen Fincher's last feature film, Gone Girl, and I was really excited to see him get behind the camera again. It's been reported that his father, Jack Fincher, who passed away, was the one who wrote the screenplay for Mank and it was supposed to originally come out in the late 1990s, but it did not happen. Fortunately, in 2020, we get to see Mank finally brought to life through Fincher.
The aesthetics in Mank are excellent. The way Fincher and cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt brought an old look to the film is incredible. The film is shot in black and white and it really has the feel of films from the 1930s and early 40s from the framing, the panning, and even the lighting and shadow look stunning and capture the feel of that era. The film also gives us flashbacks between time periods to allow us to get a peek behind the inner workings of MGM studios, the political landscape of California at that time and how it impacts the studio and the film industry in general. Watching how they placed propaganda in films to push audiences to vote for a certain person and attempt to influence the result of that election is really fascinating.
The music, including the sound-mixing, provided by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross was also masterful. The music score or even the choice of using early jazz music as a character within each section of the movie brings so much personality to the film. When combining all these elements and styles, I would say this is maybe the least David Fincher looking film I've seen so far. It has a mood and tone that feel almost like it could have been by Woody Allen. This just shows how unique Fincher is as a director and even though this is 11th film, he can still give us something different from what we've seen from him before.
Amanda Seyfried as Marion Davies.
The film contains tonnes of dialogue between characters that is often fast and requires your attention and patience -- a style Fincher has become known for since The Social Network (2010). However, almost every cast member and their performance in this movie is just top-notch and I love watching how it bounces between them without missing a beat. Some of the standouts are Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Charles Dance and Arliss Howard, however, the star and the main focus of this film is definitely Oldman. The character of Mankiewicz is quick-witted, funny and outspoken. Yet at the same time, he is also a raging alcoholic and Oldman plays the character well because he takes somebody who could be rather off-putting and makes us want to see more of him.
Mank isn't without its flaws though and I do have some criticisms, especially in terms of the lack of emotional connection, intrigue, drama or anything human to keep you engaged for more than two hours. I feel this is going to divide audiences as you must be an absolute fan of 1940s Hollywood and know the names of everyone who worked in the industry back then from the stars to screenwriters, executive producers, businessmen and politicians, and really care about the little snippets of Citizen Kane's background to admire this movie. Otherwise, it's hard to gravitate towards this character and it is hard to resonate with this particular story.
As I mentioned, the performances are incredible but unfortunately you don't get to spend as much time with certain characters and really get to learn who they are and what motivates them. I wish we would have gotten more character development amid some of those great performances.
Overall, this is by far David Fincher's most ambitious film to date and Gary Oldman continues to prove why he's one of the best performers in the business today. However, despite the film not having many characters that I personally connected to, at times, I felt like the film was more of a history lesson rather a purely entertaining film. It's probably not as accessible as 2011's black-and-white award-winning The Artist but for the craftsmanship and its technical standpoint, Mank deserves praise, and cannot be ignored or overlooked.
- Mank
- Starring Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Charles Dance
- Directed by David Fincher
- Now streaming on Netflix
