MANK | FILM REVIEW
Dir: David Fincher (12, 132 mins)
A telling of the story behind one of the all-time classics of cinema, Citizen Kane, Mank follows the writer Herman J. Mankiewicz as he struggles with creativity, alcoholism and the political nature of Hollywood, not to mention a certain Orson Welles to bring the script to the screen. Unfortunately, it’s rather an underwhelming affair. David Fincher has brought us the likes of Seven, Zodiac and Gone Girl, but this is his most personal project to date – based on an unmade script by his father Jack Fincher which lifted the lid on the battle between the irascible, principled Mankiewicz, played with ratatat loucheness by Gary Oldman.
He has a script deadline for Tom Burke’s Orson Welles for American – a screenplay which would become Citizen Kane – that Fincher supposes he wrote as an invalid, immobilized with a broken leg after a car accident. There has always been a quarrel about who, of Welles or Mankiewicz, really wrote Citizen Kane; they both shared a writing credit which ultimately won an Oscar, but this film comes down firmly on Herman’s side.
The machinations of 1930s and 40s Hollywood demonstrates where power lies, with studio bosses in the pocket of millionaire political figures like William Randolph Hearst, on whom Kane is supposedly based. Here, he is given suave and deadly charm by Charles Dance, with Oldman railing against him and his influence while simultaneously fascinated by him. Hearst’s use of fake news to steer election victory in California away from socialist Upton Sinclair is covered, with chilling contemporary relevance.
Mank should be a fascinating glimpse into vintage Hollywood. It is, however, bloated, overlong, speechifying and ultimately rather dull. An insider knowledge of the industry of the era is definitely required, and whilst Fincher has created a brilliantly stylish monochromatic paean of the times, it doesn’t really engage emotionally. An invasive musical score irritates: the sound is stripped back to how it would have been in the 40s, and there are even fake marks to show where reel changes should be. The actors spout dialogue at speed – Amanda Seyfried’s Hearst starlet, Marion Davies, Tuppence Middleton’s long suffering wife Sara – to little emotional effect; Oldman keeps the motor running, but it’s hard to care about anyone as there is no space to emotionally engage. An act of indulgence that is wonderful to look at but ultimately feels rather a chore, Mank does not deliver.
Streaming on Netflix now
words KEIRON SELF