Synopsis
1930s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane.
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Cast
- Gary OldmanHerman Mankiewicz
- Amanda SeyfriedMarion Davies
- Lily CollinsRita Alexander
- Arliss HowardLouis B. Mayer
- Tom PelphreyJoseph Mankiewicz
- Sam TroughtonJohn Houseman
- Ferdinand KingsleyIrving Thalberg
- Tuppence MiddletonSara Mankiewicz
- Tom BurkeOrson Welles
- Joseph CrossCharles Lederer
Recommendations
- 100
The Guardian
What an addictive romantic drama it is, mixing sentimentality with pure rapture. - 88
USA Today
A wonderful throwback about a flawed figure who took on a hostile era in Hollywood with choice words and major chutzpah. - 83
Entertainment Weekly
The story then becomes less a forensic accounting of a masterpiece than a bittersweet ode to a certain slice of old Hollywood: part love letter, part cautionary tale, and still somehow a mystery. - 83
IndieWire
Though forged in a meticulous 1930s backdrop that merges historical detail with the style and tone of that era, “Mank” is hardly a playful throwback. Fincher has made a cerebral psychodrama that rewards the engaged cinephile audience in its crosshairs, but even when cold to the touch, the movie delivers a complex and insightful look at American power structures and the potential for a creative spark to rankle their foundations. - 75
RogerEbert.com
I think the most productive way to look at Mank, a new film about Hollywood in the 1930s and ‘40s, and about the screenwriter of a particularly famous and iconic work, is to understand it as Fincher’s most playful work. - 75
Slant Magazine
The film's most haunting sequences are self-contained arias in which characters grapple with their powerlessness. - 60
IGN
The reclamation project known as Mank falls short. Even with showy performances from Oldman and Seyfried, and its beautiful craft, the film lacks heart. Because underneath the wisecracks and drunken debauchery, in the face of a sweeping political narrative, there’s scarcely an impression of the man. - 60
Uproxx
It’s an admirable effort. It’s just a beautiful thing to look at. And the whole endeavor is such a touching tribute from Fincher to his father. But, in the end, I found myself more interested in the behind the scenes shenanigans that led to the creation of, perhaps, the greatest movie of all time, as opposed to Mank the human being. And Mank focuses much more on the latter.
