The dearth of imagination in Hollywood and indeed in contemporary global pop culture as a whole is attested by the number of bland sequels, woke remakes and eye-burning superhero sagas the film industry is churning out. Occasionally a period piece is attempted but the bimbos (male or female) of Tinseltown rarely understand or empathize with such subjects enough to present an engaging product. When it turns to its own history, however, Hollywood is writing what it knows, and so it is with 'Mank,' a diary of the genesis of the script to 'Citizen Kane.'
Even so, the script is a bit awkward. The plot meanders about, obviously imitating the chronology of the product to which it pays tribute and attempting to draw parallels to the personality of the author. The problem is that the metastory here is nowhere near as thematically rich of coherent, and so the technique doesn't really pass as well. Attempting to recapture "the spirit of the product" in black and white in the vein of 'Goodnight and Good Luck' similarly fails: this is a story first and foremost not about a (semi-)fictional work about real humans and it really needed to be in color to be fully draw us into their world.
The political subtext of idiot reactionaries against "misunderstood" soft-socialist allies of F.D.R. is a bit heavy-handed but it isn't nearly as whiny about its own faction's failings as, say, 'The Big Short.' 'Citizen Kane' was a thinly-veiled satire of William Randolph Hearst and the movie certainly lays into the style of reporting his press line cultivated but not as much into his person as one might expect.
To their credit, the writers do portray among Hearst's allies Marion Davies as a woman of sharp intelligence and not unsubstantial compassion, contrary to common assumptions. I suspect this has more to do with prophylaxis against feminist rage in the post-"Me Too" era than a desire to be accurate or "balanced" but it works very well. Tom Burke plays Orson Wells as a fresh wunderkid one could easily imagine fresh out of film school today, and with just enough "creepy need pervert" undertone to make one wonder whether the choice not to accord him more screen time was deliberate, lest the writers either call undue attention to an unpleasant snob or steer too far from historical accuracy.
Lastly, in the world of post-Obama, Trump and "Black Lives Matter" where accusations of "cultural appropriation" fly left and right one cannot help noticing the preponderance of Gentile actors for the Jewish characters in this one. I have my theories as to why this was done, none of which are politically correct.
All in all, though, the story is more than sufficiently engaging, the characters more than sufficiently interesting and the technicals more than sufficiently competent to engross, thrill and entertain us. In the end, this is all that matters so far as a film is concerned. 'Mank' even refers to this, set as it is during the Great Depression, depicting the worry that financial pressure would separate Americans from their movie houses, the one pleasurable escape which remains. That speaks volumes to a similarly dark period in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with cinemas closed or restricted in many districts and Hollywood itself in the thick of a creative dark age. A truly entertaining picture such as 'Mank' stands out all the more in a time such as this, and if I've been frank in pointing out its flaws that is only because such an important product naturally draws such close analysis and scrutiny.
In any event, the filmmakers certainly succeeded in brightening up my evening as well as my screen last night, and I've no doubt the evenings of so many other spectators as well. For that I salute them.
Even so, the script is a bit awkward. The plot meanders about, obviously imitating the chronology of the product to which it pays tribute and attempting to draw parallels to the personality of the author. The problem is that the metastory here is nowhere near as thematically rich of coherent, and so the technique doesn't really pass as well. Attempting to recapture "the spirit of the product" in black and white in the vein of 'Goodnight and Good Luck' similarly fails: this is a story first and foremost not about a (semi-)fictional work about real humans and it really needed to be in color to be fully draw us into their world.
The political subtext of idiot reactionaries against "misunderstood" soft-socialist allies of F.D.R. is a bit heavy-handed but it isn't nearly as whiny about its own faction's failings as, say, 'The Big Short.' 'Citizen Kane' was a thinly-veiled satire of William Randolph Hearst and the movie certainly lays into the style of reporting his press line cultivated but not as much into his person as one might expect.
To their credit, the writers do portray among Hearst's allies Marion Davies as a woman of sharp intelligence and not unsubstantial compassion, contrary to common assumptions. I suspect this has more to do with prophylaxis against feminist rage in the post-"Me Too" era than a desire to be accurate or "balanced" but it works very well. Tom Burke plays Orson Wells as a fresh wunderkid one could easily imagine fresh out of film school today, and with just enough "creepy need pervert" undertone to make one wonder whether the choice not to accord him more screen time was deliberate, lest the writers either call undue attention to an unpleasant snob or steer too far from historical accuracy.
Lastly, in the world of post-Obama, Trump and "Black Lives Matter" where accusations of "cultural appropriation" fly left and right one cannot help noticing the preponderance of Gentile actors for the Jewish characters in this one. I have my theories as to why this was done, none of which are politically correct.
All in all, though, the story is more than sufficiently engaging, the characters more than sufficiently interesting and the technicals more than sufficiently competent to engross, thrill and entertain us. In the end, this is all that matters so far as a film is concerned. 'Mank' even refers to this, set as it is during the Great Depression, depicting the worry that financial pressure would separate Americans from their movie houses, the one pleasurable escape which remains. That speaks volumes to a similarly dark period in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with cinemas closed or restricted in many districts and Hollywood itself in the thick of a creative dark age. A truly entertaining picture such as 'Mank' stands out all the more in a time such as this, and if I've been frank in pointing out its flaws that is only because such an important product naturally draws such close analysis and scrutiny.
In any event, the filmmakers certainly succeeded in brightening up my evening as well as my screen last night, and I've no doubt the evenings of so many other spectators as well. For that I salute them.