mank

David Fincher's Love Letter To Hollywood & How People Lose Themselves In The Magic Of The Movies 

By: IMDB-ghamstudios 

26 November 2020 

This is a film about how we want to be seen by people and what legacy we leave behind after we're gone. This is very much unlike any of David Fincher's other films, it's a black & white Hollywood biopic character drama, that's rated PG. Well reader, I don't quite see this as a David Fincher film, rather A Jack Fincher Film. Mank's screenplay was written sometime in the mid to late 90s by David's Father, Jack Fincher. This is Jack's one and only screenwriting credit, as he died in 2002. This is a story about a man's life slipping away and his one last creative expression which will make a legacy for him, written by a man with one last chance to try and express himself through the screenplay before passing away. David Fincher is one of our greatest living filmmakers, and once again he knocked it out of the park. With the help of Fincher's absolutely maniacal approach to directing actors, he essentially made these 21st century actors into living, breathing people alive in the 1930s and 40s. The cinematography, aside from it being cool to see a black & white film in a theatre, was just gorgeous. The lighting and shot composition were a real treat for the eyes; THE SPLIT DIOPTERS! Along with the pretty pictures and cool techy director stuff the sound mixing & score are absolutely top notch. It's incredibly hard to overstate how much this feels like being transported to the 40s and the sound and score are largely responsible for those feelings. Gary Oldman is good, I think he's too old for the part, but he's still a great actor, just nothing to write home about. The supporting players from Lily Collins, Tom Pelphrey, Charles Dance, Arliss Howard, to Tuppence Middleton and Jamie McShane; all suit their roles perfectly. A special shoutout to my boy Tom Burke, I love to see an astonishingly talented actor like him succeed in this way. Personally, I think this films real standout, acting wise, is Amanda Seyfried as Marion Davies. I've loved her as Karen from Meangirls since junior high, but I think this proved to every casting director in the biz that she is beyond talented. Without dragging this on for too long, I just wanted to say that this is a very special movie that I was beyond pleased to see in a theatre. As my mother talked about when I came home from the film; I wish my grandfather, Bill Thompson, who was a filmmaker in his own right, had been alive today to see this with me. Citizen Kane was among his favourite films and I wish I could have shared this with him. 

 "You cannot capture a man's life in two hours. All you can hope is to leave the impression of one."                            Herman J. Mankiewicz

 

  

  

VIDEO - MANK - 2020 - 10/10   -     https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10618286/