If you’re thrown by the first 10 minutes of this movie, don’t switch back to RHOSLC* just yet. The black-and-white presentation and 1930s Hollywood insider references may seem jarring, but Mank is a cleverly written, expertly acted, and sure-to-be Oscar contender that you won’t want to miss. (*Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, for the layperson.)
Mank star and professional human chameleon Gary Oldman can add one more brilliant performance to his resume. He shines as real-life Hollywood screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, an acerbic, functioning alcoholic, best known as the co-writer to Orson Welles’s iconic Citizen Kane. A by-the-numbers Mank biopic would have focused more on Mank’s contested contribution to Kane; smartly, the movie spends as much time exploring the political machinations of several California figures. Using Mank as a pithy audience avatar, the film pulls back the curtain on old Hollywood’s darker, cynical machinery, and a simmering culture war that’s ready to spill over.
Working from a script from his late father, director David Fincher chooses to shoot the film as a late-‘30s talkie. Fincher is mostly known for moody, atmospheric psychological thrillers (Gone Girl, The Social Network, and Fight Club). The style of Mank may alienate some casual filmgoers—but once you surrender to the format, you’re in for a lively, charming, and uninhibited look at a bygone age of American culture.
Mank is available to stream on Netflix. It runs 131 minutes and is rated R for some language.
