What is it a writer says? “Tell the story you know.” Those were the words said to Herman Mankiewicz by John Houseman (longtime producer and collaborator with Orson Wells) back when Mankiewicz was writing the script for what would eventually become the landmark film, Citizen Kane. As we draw to an end to 2020 much of the film landscape has gone through some major changes. Thankfully David Fincher returns with a story that feels very relevant to today’s world (in some ways), especially in the United States. Particularly as it takes place during one of the most important eras in our history, the 1930s. Along with other tentpole directors such as Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, JJ Abrams (just to name a few) Fincher has a very unique and specific filmography that cover’s many different genres. Saying that as someone who has seen and enjoyed much of his work, his latest film “Mank” may be his most daring and personal film to date.
The movie mostly details the life of one of the most important and troubled screenwriters of all time in Herman Mankiewicz. It jumps back and forth and ends up feeling very similar to a movie script but it’s mostly taking place around the same period. Mank (as he likes to be called) has been hired by Orson Wells to write the screenplay for his next picture as he is recovering from a broken leg from a very serious car accident. The story was one that Fincher has had in the works for a while as he originally wanted to have this movie come out after The Game way back in 1997. The screenplay was written by his late father Jack Fincher who passed away in 2003, he was a famous writer in multiple magazines and other publications, very similar in a ironic way to Mankiewicz.
The main anchor for this film is the chameleon himself, Gary Oldman who really makes this whole movie from start to finish with his turn as Mankiewicz. It’s really obvious to see that Mankiewicz was very troubled in spite of his talents as a writer and his very outspoken persona. But despite all of that (including a good amount of alcohol abuse), he is still able to be a very productive writer during his prime at the acclaimed movie studio (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer). As this is happening the very big and influential people in his social circle start to affect the script that he is writing. The movie deals with very familiar political opinions and how people at the top don’t want things to change, for whatever reason (power, money, class, etc.). Which as a result starts to affect his writing as the line between movies and real-life starts to blend. Oldman isn’t alone in the performance side as Amanda Seyfried and Lily Collins very much hold their own against Oldman in more ways than one (particularly Seyfried).
In terms of the technical aspects of the movie, it’s nothing short of a masterclass as the movie is completely in black and white. Fincher does an amazing job of setting you in that time period of the 1930s and makes it feel like it was made at that time. In addition the score by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross who are masters at setting a mood musically with any project that they compose add to that setting. If you didn’t know that they composed the score you would think someone else did it, that is just a credit to the great job that they did. This movie is much more of a slow burn compared to Fincher’s previous movies so it may affect how you respond to it. I was completely enamored from start to finish and I’m glad that a movie like this was done. This year may not have been the best one for cinema, but this is a story that more people may relate to and more importantly, learn from.
The Verdict