Seeing as Mank is a film directed by David Fincher, it shouldn't be any surprise this is a movie that comes together excellently from a technical perspective. It's very well directed and acted, something that I naturally come to expect from Fincher as a director. With that said, this is not a movie that's going to appeal to everyone. A small niche of people will probably enjoy it. For starters, Fincher makes a lot of call-backs to Citizen Kane. It makes sense because this movie is about Herman Mankiewicz as he writes Citizen Kane, and navigates 1930s Hollywood. One of the main criticisms I have seen levied against this movie is that the pacing often feels a bit too slow. This is something I have to agree with. As I have already hinted at, the performances really do deserve props. As usual actors like Gary Oldman and Charles Dance are in top form. Amanda Seyfried might at her best in this movie. The one person who doesn't entirely feel like they belong to me is Bill Nye as Upton Sinclair. He isn't awful, necessarily. But, Bill Nye also is not an actor by trade. However, I should note that he really isn't in the film very much. This is a film that was written by David Fincher's late father. Naturally, this film was a passion project for Fincher. Overall, as a fan of David Fincher's work, I am glad I saw this film. It's not one that I think will go down as one of his best, nor do I see this as one of Fincher's more rewatchable movies. I enjoyed my time with Mank, but won't need to seek it out multiple times in the long run.
7 / 10
