I think the most justified criticism is that the story is just a mess and tries to be about a bunch of different things and ends up not saying anything interesting about any of them.
Mank having a witty phrase or response to almost everything other characters say made me think of Juno.
Amanda Seyfried on working with director David Fincher on ‘Mank’: ‘I’d never felt as safe on a set playing a role that was incredibly intimidating’
I honestly wasn’t expecting to care much for this as I don’t have much reverence for old Hollywood stories but goddamn, totally loved it
This was good. It was a great look into how we process guilt, both the destructive and cathartic methods. But even when we feel we've bested our demons, it doesn't mean we're ever fully past them. It's particularly interesting to view through the current political climate. On a smaller, personal level, Mank got his revenge on Hearst. Whenever I hear the name William Randolph Hearst, I instinctively think of him through the portrait Citizen Kane painted for him. But at a macro level, the word socialism is still taboo in America to this day and Mank's roll in that can't be unwritten (I have no idea if he actually had an accidental hand to play in creating that propaganda in real life, of course). It reminds me a lot of the documentaries with former developers and executives at social media companies, lamenting about their part to play in how those platforms have poisoned society. They talk about how "I wish I had done something sooner", etc. The guilt may be sincere, but the damage is done regardless. While it's focused on processing guilt instead of obsession, I was getting very similar vibes to Zodiac (though, it's possible I only think that because of its Fincher). Visually, it was beautiful, balancing modern techniques with the classic black and white feel.
I legit thought it was Fincher at first haha. Also, Bill Nye as Upton Sinclar was the most unexpected casting I've seen in a while.
Finally saw this, came to post, saw I had to skip past yet another page of “educate yourselves you philistines” talk re: the Oscars, so that’s great. Good movie. And, as always, fuck Gary Oldman.
Sort of on topic, has anyone seen RKO 281? I guess it’s another movie about Citizen Kane with Liev Shreiber playing Orson Welles. Never even heard of it until I saw it pop up on HBO Max.