Opened: November 13, 2020

Directed by: David Fincher

Starring: Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Tom Pelphrey, Charles Dance, Sam Troughton, Ferdinand Kingsley, Tuppence Middleton, Tom Burke, Joseph Cross, Jamie McShane, Toby Leonard Moore, Monika Grossmann, Leven Rambin, Bill Nye & Jeff Harms

Though fantastically styled in black and white with “cigarette burns” on the film to make it feel like a movie straight from the 1930s, Mank struggles to find its footing with its story and an audience to impress.

Injured alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) is isolated to write the script for Orson Welles’ (Tom Burke) Citizen Kane. Told through many flashbacks, Mank’s personal opinions on Hollywood, especially William Randolph Hearst (Charles Dance) and Marion Davies (Amanda Seyfried), are seen.

Seyfried is so natural as Davies that she looks and acts as if she could’ve been plucked right out of an old film. However, Oldman is too old to play Mank – especially against Seyfried and Tuppence Middleton’s characters who were his same age – and doesn’t provide redeeming qualities.

Final say: Not a masterpiece like the film that it explores. ★★★☆☆