Jump to content

Mank

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Samurai Kung fu Cowboy (talk | contribs) at 03:30, 6 December 2020 (→‎Plot). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For the Austrian town, see Mank (town).

Mank
Official release poster
Directed byDavid Fincher
Screenplay byJack Fincher
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyErik Messerschmidt
Edited byKirk Baxter
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • November 13, 2020 (2020-11-13) (United States)
Running time
131 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20–30 million[2]
Box office$99,752[3]

Mank is a 2020 American biographical drama film about screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz and his development of the script for Citizen Kane (1941). Directed by David Fincher, based on a screenplay by his late father Jack Fincher, the film is produced by Ceán Chaffin, Douglas Urbanski, and Eric Roth. It stars Gary Oldman in the title role, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Tom Pelphrey, Sam Troughton, Ferdinand Kingsley, Tuppence Middleton, Tom Burke, Joseph Cross, Jamie McShane, Toby Leonard Moore, Monika Gossmann, and Charles Dance.

Fincher's father Jack wrote the script in the 1990s, and David originally intended to film it after he completed The Game (1997), with Kevin Spacey and Jodie Foster as the leads. It never came to fruition, and Jack Fincher died in 2003. Eventually, the project was officially announced in July 2019, and filming took place around Los Angeles from November 2019 to February 2020.[4]

Mank had a limited theatrical release on November 13, 2020, and began streaming on Netflix on December 4, 2020. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised the direction, cinematography, production values, and musical score, as well as the performances of Oldman and Seyfried.

Plot

In 1940, Orson Welles is given complete creative freedom for his next project by RKO. In Victorville, California, Herman J. Mankiewicz is recovering from a broken leg he sustained in a car accident. He receives a phone call from Welles, who has recruited him to write the screenplay for his new film. Herman dictates the script to his secretary, Rita Alexander, who writes it down.

Some years ago at Paramount Studios, Herman and other writers speak to David O. Selznick about a film they are writing. Herman heads to a film location where he and the female lead, Marion Davies, recognize each other. She introduces him to William Randolph Hearst.

In 1940, producer John Houseman grows concerned that Herman's dense, nonlinear screenplay is too complicated for the masses to follow. Rita starts to notice parallels between Herman's characters and people he knows. Years earlier, Herman and his brother Joseph start to work with Louis B. Mayer at MGM, who is concerned with finances.

Joseph calls Herman to voice concerns over the new screenplay and that it may anger Hearst. In 1933, Herman and his wife Sara attend Mayer's birthday party at Hearst Castle with many Hollywood bigwigs. They discuss Nazi Germany and local politics, including Upton Sinclair. Herman goes for a walk with Marion, where they talk about Hollywood and politics.

Houseman is concerned about how long it is taking to write the script and fears he and Herman will be fired. Welles has finished his work on Heart of Darkness and will now be turning his full attention to the new project. Rita is also concerned with the timing of the writing and Herman's alchoholism.

In 1934, Herman continues his work for MGM. Studio executives including Irving Thalberg actively work against Sinclair's campaign for Governor of California as others try to form the Screen Writers Guild. In 1940, Herman finishes the screenplay. Houseman is impressed but concerned about Hearst's reaction to the main character.

In 1934, MGM produces smear campaign films against Sinclair, which Herman attempts to get pulled. In 1940, Charles Lederer picks up the screenplay to deliver to the studio. In 1934, Herman and Sara attend an MGM election night party, where Mayer announces the winner, Frank Merriam.

Joseph visits Herman in 1940 after reading the screenplay and is now even more concerned about Hearst's reaction and its effect on Marion, especially possible implications of Rosebud. He also believes it's the finest thing that Herman ever wrote. In 1934, Herman's friend and co-worker, Shelly Metcalf, shoots and kills himself after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and having to make propaganda films for Merriam even though he supported Sinclair.

In 1940, Marion does her best to persuade Herman to change the screenplay but to no avail. She tells Herman she will try to stop the picture from getting made. In 1936 Herman attends Thalberg's funeral. In 1940, Welles calls Herman to inform him that RKO does not want to make the movie because of Hearst. Welles is determined to make it and wants to do a re-write with Herman. In 1937, Herman attends a party at Hearst Castle, where he drunkenly pitches the film he writes in 1940, offending Mayer and others until only he and Hearst remain. Hearst tells him an allegory about a monkey and an organ grinder and sees him out.

Welles visits Herman and offers him a buyout from the studio. Herman wants credit for the script, believing it is the best thing he has ever written. Welles is upset and tells Herman that he has gone to bat for him. He leaves angrily. In 1942, Herman and Welles win the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film.

Cast

Many other Hollywood icons are portrayed, including, George S. Kaufman, Greta Garbo, Josef Von Sternberg, Norma Shearer, Eleanor Boardman, Joan Crawford, Charlie Chaplin, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Billie Dove, Rexford Tugwell, Bette Davis, Clark Gable, Charles MacArthur, Darryl F. Zanuck, S.J. Perelman, Carole Lombard, and Eddie Cantor.

Production

Gary Oldman who stars as the title role, Herman J. "Mank" Mankiewicz

Mank was officially announced in July 2019, when David Fincher said he would direct the film, with Gary Oldman set to star. The screenplay was written by Fincher's father, Jack Fincher, prior to his death in 2003. It was originally going to be Fincher’s follow-up to The Game (1997) with Kevin Spacey and Jodie Foster set to star but never came to fruition due to Fincher's insistence on shooting in black-and-white.[4][7] Additional casting was announced in October, with Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Tuppence Middleton, Arliss Howard and Charles Dance among the new cast added.[8]

Fincher reunites with much of his usual filmmaking team, including production designer Donald Graham Burt, editor Kirk Baxter, and composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, using only period-authentic instruments. Fincher opted for cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, with whom he worked on his Netflix series Mindhunter.[9][10][11]

Filming began on November 1, 2019, in Los Angeles.[12] It also took place in Victorville, California, and wrapped on February 4, 2020.[13] Dance stated that a scene involving a drunken Mankiewicz took over 100 takes,[14] while Seyfried stated that one of her scenes took over a week and 200 takes to shoot.[15]

The 120-page draft of the initial script revealed that Jack Fincher closely followed a claim voiced by Pauline Kael in her 1971 New Yorker article Raising Kane that Welles did not deserve screenwriting credit.[16] The article angered many critics, including Welles's friend and fellow filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich who rebutted Kael's claims point by point in "The Kane Mutiny", an October 1972 article for Esquire.[17] Her argument was discredited by several film scholars through the years, including Robert L. Carringer in his study of "The Scripts of Citizen Kane."[18] Mank producer Eric Roth reportedly polished the script prior to filming,[19] with David Fincher saying he felt early drafts were too anti-Welles.[20]

Release

Mank was released in a limited theatrical release in the United States and Canada on November 13, 2020,[20] before beginning to stream worldwide on Netflix on December 4, 2020.[1]

IndieWire reported the film played in 75 theaters during its opening weekend and did "similar business" as other new indie releases The Climb and Ammonite, which each averaged about $300 per venue (which would mean a $22,500 debut for Mank).[21]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 207 critics recommended the film, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Sharply written and brilliantly performed, Mank peers behind the scenes of Citizen Kane to tell an old Hollywood story that could end up being a classic in its own right."[22] According to Metacritic, which compiled 43 reviews and calculated a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, the film received "generally favorable reviews".[23]

Eric Kohn of IndieWire gave the film a "B+" and wrote: "However much credit Mankiewicz deserves for Kane, Fincher's remarkable movie makes a compelling argument for appreciating the prescience behind its conception. His life had a rough ending, but the movie about it gives him one last bitter laugh."[24] Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Justin Chang said, "Mank demands your surrender, but also your heightened attention. It's a pleasurably discombobulating experience, sometimes playing like mordant drawing-room comedy and sometimes flirting with expressionist nightmare, as when Welles' dark silhouette looms over a bedridden Mank and his mummified leg."[25]

Owen Gleiberman of Variety praised the performances and production design, saying, "Mank is a tale of Old Hollywood that's more steeped in Old Hollywood — its glamour and sleaze, its layer-cake hierarchies, its corruption and glory — than just about any movie you've seen, and the effect is to lend it a dizzying time-machine splendor."[26] Peter Travers, reviewing the film for ABC News, wrote: "Mank is the most gorgeous piece of cinema you'll see anywhere. Brilliantly shot in black-and-white by Erik Messerschmidt, with costumes to die for by Trish Summerville and a period-authentic score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross that somehow isn't defeated by the retro mono sound, Mank is meant to match the look and feel of its era, as if it's eight decades ago and you just bought a ticket."[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Sneider, Jeff (October 7, 2020). "David Fincher's 'Mank' Sets December Release Date on Netflix". Collider. Archived from the original on October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  2. ^ Moreau, Jordan (October 30, 2020). "'Mank' First Reactions: David Fincher Is a 'Technical Genius' With 'Exquisitely Crafted' Film". Variety. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  3. ^ "Mank (2020) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Lang, Brett (October 30, 2020). "Magnificent Obsession: David Fincher on His Three-Decade Quest to Bring 'Mank' to Life". Variety. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  5. ^ Higham, Charles (1985). Orson Welles: The Rise and Fall of an American Genius. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-31280-6.
  6. ^ Dessem, Matthew (November 18, 2020). "What's Fact and What's Fiction in Mank". Slate. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  7. ^ Fleming Jr., Mike (July 10, 2019). "David Fincher, Gary Oldman Team On B&W 'Mank' At Netflix; Film On 'Citizen Kane' Writer Herman J. Mankiewicz Scripted By Fincher's Late Father Howard". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  8. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (October 15, 2019). "'Mank': Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, 'Downton Abbey's Tuppence Middleton & More Join David Fincher Pic". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 22, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  9. ^ Sharf, Zack (June 12, 2020). "'Mank' Producer Says Fincher's New Film Feels Like a 1930s Movie: 'It's an Incredible Piece'". IndieWire. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  10. ^ "Nine Inch Nails: 9 Things We Learned from Our Visit to Trent Reznor's Studio". Revolver. December 23, 2019. Archived from the original on December 23, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  11. ^ Chitwood, Adam (September 5, 2020). "First 'Mank' Images Reveal David Fincher's Netflix Movie About the Making of 'Citizen Kane'". Collider. Archived from the original on September 6, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  12. ^ "Mank Production Listing". Archived from the original on October 2, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  13. ^ "Principal Photography Wraps On Netflix Biopic 'Mank'". WellsNet. February 4, 2020. Archived from the original on May 13, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  14. ^ "Gary Oldman Cracked Filming 'Mank' Multiple Takes: 'I've Done This Scene 100 F*cking Times'". Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  15. ^ "Amanda Seyfried Estimates David Fincher Shot 200 Takes of 'Mank' Scene Over One Week". Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  16. ^ "'Mank' script: Netflix film may echo Pauline Kael's 'Raising Kane'". Wellesnet | Orson Welles Web Resource. March 9, 2020. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  17. ^ Bogdanovich, Peter; Welles, Orson (uncredited) (October 1972). "The Kane Mutiny". Esquire: 99–105, 180–190.
  18. ^ Carringer, Robert L. (December 1, 1978). "The Scripts of "Citizen Kane"". Critical Inquiry. 5 (2): 369–400. doi:10.1086/447995. ISSN 0093-1896. S2CID 162322642. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  19. ^ Feinberg, Scott (October 29, 2020). "Oscars: David Fincher's Netflix Pic 'Mank' Shoots to Front of Race". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  20. ^ a b Harris, Mark (October 23, 2020). "Nerding Out With David Fincher The director talks about his latest, Mank, a tale of Hollywood history, political power, and the creative act". Vulture. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  21. ^ Brueggemann, Tom (November 15, 2020). "As 'Freaky' Leads Weekend Box Office, Theaters Look Like a PVOD Marketing Device". IndieWire. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  22. ^ "Mank (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  23. ^ "Mank Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  24. ^ Kohn, Eric (November 6, 2020). "'Mank' Review: David Fincher's Best Movie Since 'The Social Network' Puts Hollywood in Its Place". IndieWire. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  25. ^ Chang, Justin (November 6, 2020). "Review: 'Mank' is a gorgeous dive into film history — and a sharp reflection on our political present". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  26. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (November 6, 2020). "' Mank' Review: In David Fincher's Immersive Hollywood Drama, Gary Oldman Is Delectably Droll as the Screenwriter of 'Citizen Kane'". Variety. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  27. ^ Travers, Peter (November 6, 2020). "'Mank' review: Gary Oldman's film is one of the year's 'very best'". ABC News. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
Retrieved from "http://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Mank&oldid=992598885"