ST. LOUIS — Herman Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) simply had a need to impose his will.
An alcoholic screenwriter who never hesitated to speak his mind-even if it cost him work-Mankiewicz didn't just have the conviction to know the sad but true hustle in Hollywood, but to tell others about it too. If there was a fancy dinner party where conservative politics were discussed, he was the live grenade thrown into the middle of the room. Mankiewicz knew the dance and often refused to play ball.
A hero to many for those efforts, but a poisonous leaf to many suits for his recklessness, Mankiewicz was the only man for the job when Orson Welles wanted to make his big splash with "Citizen Kane." David Fincher's film, "Mank," documents the tumultuous journey of an over-the-hill and injury-prone writer writing a script that was a secret at the time due to its subject matter.
While history will show the ending in plain sight, Fincher's intoxicating throwback to old Hollywood is a trip you won't want to miss. Written by his dad, Jack, Fincher dives in all the way here, showing the politically-influenced studios in Hollywood holding court over their millions while storytellers like "Mank" struggled to keep their head above water. Welles, Kane, and good old fashioned stubbornness help some of that, at least in legacy alone.
The cast is uniformly excellent here, from Charles Dance's William Randolph Hearst to Tuppence Middleton's Samantha Mankiewicz. Tom Pelphrey, a scene stealer in "Ozark's" third season earlier this year, has a nice role here as Herman's younger brother, Joe. I could go on, because this is a stacked roster. Amanda Seyfried, Arliss Howard, Lily Collins, and Toby Leonard Moore (you know him from Showtime's "Billions) are all solid. A special hat tip goes to Ferdinand Kingsley, who plays the malevolent studio head who clashes with "Mank" quite often. Oh, and I direly need a spinoff film with Tom Burke's Welles. What a great take on a legendary figure in a supporting role that involves mostly telephone calls.
But the film belongs and is powered by Oldman. What a performance. It seemed like a few years ago, Oldman was well-respected and had built a fine career playing different types of people, most of them adapted from books or even real life. But his turn as Winston Churchill, a role that netted him an Oscar trophy, changed all of that. Like a sportswriter retyping a game recap, Oldman's career is white hot again. He's extraordinary as "Mank," which was Herman's nickname as well as the superlative title of the film. Every line reading, movement, gesture, and decision by Oldman is golden here. He works like a master who knows something we don't, or just loves these complicated heroes.
In his own twisted and subversive way, Mankiewicz was a hero to the screenwriting community. He always chose to fight for the little guy instead of just sitting down at a typewriter and punch out what the studio wanted. The offer from Welles, one could say, was just the perfect storm for "Mank" to make his move, or decide to fold it all up for good. Oldman should be nominated once again, because he makes Herman a fully-realized person instead of merely a weapon of mass destruction for a reclusive director.
The jazzy score is a swell departure for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and it syncs up perfectly with Eric Messerschmidt's engrossing cinematography and Donald Graham Burt's production design. None of it comes off as superficial biopic fluff; Fincher did his homework and nails the aesthetic here. Nothing is overly showy or distracts from the main plot at hand, which is "Mank" writing one of the most famous screenplays of all time in 60 days or less. The picture acquires a heist film-type atmosphere, with the audience for Herman against the big corrupt system.
Back then, the studios were uniformly governed by the political world. A world where high-ranking officials decided what people saw at the movies, and what could be properly expressed without making much noise. Herman Mankiewicz made a LOT of noise, and constantly went against the curve. He was the kid who touched a hot stove even if he was warned against doing so. "Mank" was an exception, something his most loyal supporters-including his wife, Sam, studio friend Hearts, and Joe-tried to rally him against. An agent of chaos back when the world of make believe most needed it.
Fincher's film makes a lot of noise, with connections and transformative language suggesting the country is still in a rut creatively, and there's an alarm being sounded. Fincher wants us to find out who our modern day Mankiewicz will be, or if there even is one out there with enough guts and savvy to fight the right battles.
In a way, Fincher is Mankiewicz in a way. A trailblazing filmmaker who has taken his fair share of lumps along the way, Fincher has done things in his own way for a long time. He makes award-worthy television shows and films with the ease of someone who knows exactly what he has to do. "Mank" was Fincher's "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood," a dedication to old Hollywood that, for better or worse, shaped our future.
*MANK is currently playing in select theaters, and comes to Netflix on Dec. 4.
