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Mank | Movie Review

Mank - 2020 
Directed by : David Fincher 

It is not clear that how much of all this is closer to actual reality. And thats the biggest problem with this film. Everything else is as meticulous as any other Fincher movie. One cant help but question about what this film wants to say regarding the event that happened many many decades ago, and whether is it really an accurate depiction of what have had actually happened at the time. The answer for it is not clear nor easy to find. 


For those of you don't know Mank is story about Herman Mankiewicz aka Mank(Gary Oldman) who wrote the screenplay for supposedly greatest film ever made, Citizen Kane. And it is a film about, the relationship of Orsen Welles(Tom Burke) with Mank and his own contribution towards the screenplay. And the main center point of the story being, how much is written by each of them. And this film takes an Anti-Welles approach and practically gives all the credit of the screenplay to Mank. Fincher portrays Welles as an evil genius who wants to steal or even buy the script of Kane and make it his own. 

It is the certainty of the film about the actual events happened is bugging me more than anything. No one can be sure about what have had actually happened between them, except Welles and Mank themselves! It is safe to say that Fincher is fictionalising many things. Particularly the last arguing scene between both of them where Welles literally offers Mank 10,000 dollars to make him let go of the script and abandon the credit for it; how someone goes on to guess what happened between them two. Also the connection between Upton Sinclair and Mank claimed to have been completely fictional. Also the visit of Marion Davies(Amanda Seyfried) with Mank after the script written, is supposedly not a true fact. And there are moments of invented fiction here and there to make look Mank more the person which Fincher thinks him to be rather than what he really might be. 

Surely the makers of the film might have their reasons to believe what they do. But we are free to interpret. Except what is the center point of the film, the story and accurate account, Mank gets everything right. The score, the acting, the cinematography, the accuracy in showing the bygone period, the editing, directing and every other technical aspect hits bull's eye, as Fincher every time does. 

Gone Girl was the last film David Fincher directed before Mank, a totally different movie. Mank might be very personal to Fincher, its screenplay was written by his father, late Howard Fincher, it was his passion project he wanted to make for a long time and finally made it. I am personally confused with Fincher's biographical films, Mank and before that The Social Network. The Social Network was also pretty debatable for presenting the facts which might or might not be true. But regarding Mank, for Fincher fans, myself included, Mank is not the movie we wanted or expected. 

Rating: ★★★
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