Mank

Name: Mank
Genre: Biography, Drama
Released: November 13, 2020
Rating: 79
Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Arliss Howard, Charles Dance, Gary Oldman, Jamie McShane

2020

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 52 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 184 Ratings

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6.1	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 184 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Netflix | Release Date: November 13, 2020

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Arliss Howard, Charles Dance, Gary Oldman, Jamie McShane, Leven Rambin, Lily Collins, Sam Troughton, Toby Leonard Moore, Tom Burke, Tom Pelphrey, Tuppence Middleton

Movie Facts:

Led all 2020 films with a total of six Golden Globe nominations.

Summary: 1930s Hollywood is re-evaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane for Orson Welles.

Director: David Fincher

Genre(s): Biography, Drama

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Phil de Semlyen

Jan 26, 2021

The arguments over whether Citizen Kane is the greatest film ever made will rage on forever. But the greatest film about Citizen Kane – and just about any other movie – has definitely arrived. David Fincher’s eleventh film is a lavish love letter to old Hollywood in all its glory, cynicism and wild extravagance. Read full review

100

Jamie Graham

Nov 6, 2020

After 30 years of gestation, Mank emerges one of the great films on the machinations of Hollywood Read full review

Ty Burr

Nov 19, 2020

Mank is one of the year’s best movies if you’re the kind of person who genuinely loves movies and damn close if you’re not. Read full review

A.O. Scott

Dec 3, 2020

David Fincher’s Mank is a worthy, eminently watchable entry in the annals of Hollywood self-obsession. That it is unreliable as history should go without saying. Read full review

James Berardinelli

Dec 23, 2020

Mank may be Fincher’s most technically challenging production to-date but it suffers from what some might consider to be the director’s Achilles heel: his laser-focus on perfection results in a tepid emotional temperature. It’s hard to feel much of anything for (or about) any of the characters, even the title one. Read full review

Peter Rainer

Dec 4, 2020

For all its skill and scrupulousness, I found the film a strangely remote emotional experience – a slice of black and white that never quite bursts into living color. Read full review

The Film Stage Nick Newman

Nov 6, 2020

The exposition-mountain screenplay leaves little to feel just as a devotion to the written word leaves scant room for anything to look at. I’m slightly unsure what anybody involved was hoping to get from the experience, much less what’s the takeaway sans basic admiration for baseline craft. Read full review

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User Reviews

tarqs

Nov 19, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Amazing film! Fincher delivers another masterpiece. Definitely in Oscar conversation.… Expand

4 of 8 users found this helpful44

JSOOe12

Nov 16, 2020

Before you say I did Not watch this Movie I watched it On of My friends is A critic and he showed me the movie

0 of 7 users found this helpful07

Gieson

Dec 8, 2020

"[...] How wealth and influence can crush a man" can be the exact description not only of the masterpiece that Mank created but also of the writer himself. A great entry from David Fincher: nevertheless, the ending does not quite land, it feels uninspired and hurried, but the performances"[...] How wealth and influence can crush a man" can be the exact description not only of the masterpiece that Mank created but also of the writer himself. A great entry from David Fincher: nevertheless, the ending does not quite land, it feels uninspired and hurried, but the performances (Oldman, Seyfried, and Dance in particular) and the splendid cinematography can make it up for it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Brent_Marchant

Dec 7, 2020

Actor-director Orson Welles's epic "Citizen Kane" is considered by many to be one of the greatest (if not the greatest) film ever made, but it may never have achieved that distinction without the superb script penned by screenwriter Herman "Mank" Mankiewicz. In director David Fincher'sActor-director Orson Welles's epic "Citizen Kane" is considered by many to be one of the greatest (if not the greatest) film ever made, but it may never have achieved that distinction without the superb script penned by screenwriter Herman "Mank" Mankiewicz. In director David Fincher's latest, the filmmaker tells the colorful back story examining how the Oscar-winning screenplay came together, a lavish old Hollywood-style production with all the trimmings, gorgeous black-and-white cinematography, and a slate of stellar performances, including those of Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfriend, Arliss Howard and Charles Dance. Nevertheless, one can't help but wonder why anybody should care about a picture like this; unless one is a diehard classic movie buff, a Welles oficianado or a student of 1930s left-wing politics, "Mank" may not have much to offer the average moviegoer, especially with the film's many inside (and unexplained) references to these subjects, its ample "Kane" trivia and the details of the lives of those who inspired its storyline. This is by no means a bad picture (though it is a little slow to get started), but it may prompt many to wonder about its reason for being -- and leave them pining for Mankiewicz's handiwork instead.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

megomike

Jan 20, 2021

Mank is a film written by Jack Fincher, and directed by the immeasurable and courageous David Fincher (Se7en, Social Network, Gone Girl). A film, taking place at RKO Pictures in the 1940s, that pokes at the essences of the cinematic heroes of years’ past can be viewed as no less thanMank is a film written by Jack Fincher, and directed by the immeasurable and courageous David Fincher (Se7en, Social Network, Gone Girl). A film, taking place at RKO Pictures in the 1940s, that pokes at the essences of the cinematic heroes of years’ past can be viewed as no less than heroic. But the story itself, one of fine pedigree, ends up being nothing more than a well-acted study in monotony. Unforgettable performances by this top notch acting crew include brilliant Oscar Winner Gary Oldman (Dracula, Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and Darkest Hour), Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia, Mean Girls), Sam Troughton as a slightly believable John Houseman, and a perfect performance by Tom Burke as Orson Welles, easily the most impressive acting past Oldman himself. Ferdinand Kingsley as Irving Thalber is a revelation! Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails does the score. Mank follows the days and months of hopeless alcoholic Herman Mankiewicz, as he is chosen by wunderkind Orsen Welles to pen his next great masterpiece. Mankiewicz, or, Mank as he is referred to, works within his own constraints having recently experienced an automobile accident that has rendered him lame. Not to be constrained by physical limitations, the perpetually inebriated Mank requires the absolute best from his entourage to assist him in completing his rushed opus, Citizen Kane. At all points along the journey his support team of lovers and professionals endure Mank’s idiosyncrasies to bring out his best and complete the masterpiece that would become Citizen Kane, such as it is. I will say, as a former student of theatre, that the performances throughout this film are miraculous, and almost make this a film worth watching. But, as a critic, and in full honesty, unless you are an extreme fan of the original subject matter, or an actor seeking to find the pure nuances of pure theater, then I would struggle to recommend this movie as enjoyable. For a date night where neither party truly wants to watch fine cinema, yes. For an auteur looking to advance her or his craft, yes. If you are looking to lose yourself in fictional bliss for two hours and solve the mysteries of life however, no. I expect many of the cast and likely the film itself to garner much recognition by the Academy in 2021, and well deserved. The performances are the only thing this incredibly slow and boring story have to offer. Look for Oldman, Seyfried as Marion, an irrelevant love interest, Burke and Kingsley to receive proper attention by the Oscar voters. But while Iexpect the film to garner many award nominations due to the theme of historical drama, I’m not prepared to recommend this film for any reason outside of the masterful performances of its actors in a largely boring tale. I give this film 3/5 stars solely on the strength of its actors.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Mauro_Lanari

Dec 6, 2020

(Mauro Lanari)
Philological essay on massmediology between Benjamin and Debord applied to the politics of "House of Cards", Fincher is so busy analyzing the past to judge the present that he obfuscates Welles with his (self-)critique of Prometheanism. Reznor's soundtrack is pretty awful.

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

corinthians

Dec 18, 2020

Just a boring oscar bait...................................................

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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68	#68 Best Movie of 2020
38	#38 Most Discussed Movie of 2020