Mank
 

Here’s the teaser trailer for David Fincher’s upcoming film “Mank”, about screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz and the making of Citizen Kane:

https://youtu.be/4Xwmo4mc_dQ

Gary Oldman stars as Mankiewicz, Tom Burke plays Orson Welles, and Amanda Seyfried plays Marion Davies, a Broadway actress who was a mistress to newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, whose life was the basis of Welles’ debut feature. Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Tom Pelphrey, Sam Troughton, Ferdinand Kingsley, Tuppence Middleton, Tom Burke and Charles Dance round out the cast.

It’ll be out on Netflix on December 4th.

Looks impeccable.

https://youtu.be/aSfX-nrg-lI

https://i.imgur.com/L2vbf8F.jpg

Re: Mank
 

This film simply cannot rise above having the subject of its ultimate pique (the proverbial organ grinder’s monkey) be another filmmaker who struggled with creative autonomy for most of his career.

Re: Mank
 

Just saw this, and yeah, it's real good. The stylistic choices and period aesthetics work great, the acting is superb, and the writing is brisk and witty and just a joy. Loved it.

Re: Mank
 

Follow-up, I'll be stunned if this isn't another nomination for Gary Oldman, and I might take him against The Field without even knowing who they are, if I had to pick right now.

Great trailer...this movie looks fantastic, as someone who just recently saw Citizen Kane for the first time, I can't wait to see this.

Re: Mank
 

Whether someone is into the concept (or films about Hollywood lore in general) it'll be enjoyable to anyone who likes fast-paced, witty dialogue, too. Some really great lines in this one.

Re: Mank
 

Bump. It's a great film, and a very plausible Best Picture winner (and very very likely nominee), and it's just on Netflix, during a pandemic! Everyone watch it!

Re: Mank
 

Yeah, I loved it. Aside from just being a solid movie I can see this as a sort of cinematic glossary for people getting interested in film history.

I just finished watching it. The first thing that comes to my mind is how fast paced it is and that's not a complain, cause it doesn't seem rushed. You take in everything. Every little detail.


I like Citizen Kane. I think it's a special movie, like a well layered novel. I was aware of the credit battle and this provides a nice window to it, which some might argue against.


However, this movie is more than that. This is a nice little history lesson of sorts on old Hollywood. Little bits about many things. On other movies, actors, writers, studio, etc.


It's well acted, brilliantly shot, including the little fade ins and effects (with camera angles and the shots) making it seem like a movie of that time. Gary Oldman will get a deserved look in during the awards, but I thought Amanda Seyfried was brilliant as well, as Marion Davies. Tom Burke does a great Orson Welles along with Arliss Howard as Mayer. And as always just the mere presence of Charles Dance is enough.

Re: Mank
 

It looks like I'm in the minority here, but I thought it was tedious, affected and with some of the worst sound mixing I've heard in a while.

Re: Mank
 

Can you elaborate re: sound mixing? I'm not sure I'd much care either way, I can hear all the snappy dialogue well enough and that's about the extent to which I'd likely care, but it was obviously affecting an older style. Not sure if that's what you mean. It's definitely reasonable to hate that creative choice, but assuming that's what you mean, I think it was clearly a choice and not just poor craftsmanship.

That's what I really enjoyed about it. Not everything worked for me but I enjoyed the film almost as a romanticisation of the romanticisation of Hollywood, if that even makes sense. There are scenes when there's probably too much dialogue, but for me, that's what makes it fascinating, like some troubled ode to the bullsh*t of storytelling. Not just from screenwriters but from everyone in general.

It's a film that feels flawed to me, probably why it took so long to make, but I haven't stopped thinking about a lot of it. Agree with you that Oldman was great and I also really enjoyed Tom Burke as Welles. I loved the little characters like Herman's brother Joseph (a great director himself) and even Josef von Sternberg in one of the early Hollywood meeting scenes.

Re: Mank
 

Unsurprisingly this is a very well made film. Great cinematography, great writing and a few really memorable scenes (that scene near the end at San Simeon, for instance, is freaking great).

I did not, however, like the way Orson Welles was portrayed. Having read the history, this film doesn't seem like a fair assessment. But when I overlook that fact and think of this film as a work of fiction: it works!

Yeah I definitely agree with you, I think that everything needs to be taken with a huge pinch of salt. It plays to me like a series of Mank's drunken memories rather than reality. Apparently, the original screenplay from Fincher's father was even more anti-Welles and it got toned down.

Burke nailed it though.

Re: Mank
 

Diction Gary! Diction! I had trouble understanding some of the actors and it bugged me that the main character was one of the people whose diction I had trouble understanding. Stopped watching it midway. I'll see if there are subtitles later and rewatch it.

I totally agree. It's not fair on Welles at all.....he actually fought not only for Mank to have a co writing credit, but for Mank to be first on the list of co writing credits. It's a good film but it kind of stinks of David Fincher's father having a bee in his bonnet about screenwriters not getting enough credit.