How David Fincher's Mank Challenges The Myth of Orson Welles
By David Crow
David Fincher’s Mank is about to premiere on Netflix this November and is sure to stir the pot.
Gary Oldman plays Herman J. Mankiewicz in the film, legendary Hollywood writer.
The film revisits the origin of Citizen Kane, a movie many call the greatest ever made…
And it defies the myth that Orson Welles deserved credit for co-writing the script, which earned him his only Oscar win.
Instead Fincher, working from his late father’s screenplay, shines a spotlight on “Mank” ...
A hard drinking, self-loathing scribe who betrayed friends to write his masterpiece.
It’s Mank who thinks of writing a clear satire of news mogul William Randolph Hearst...
… and throwing Hearst’s movie star girlfriend, and Mank’s drinking buddy, Marion Davies under a bus.
Fincher’s film drips ‘40s style and features a career best performance from Amanda Seyfried as Marion.
She and Oldman spar like Mank’s ‘30s screwball comedy characters, even as this film darkens.