Mank

⭐ 7.5/10

(Originally written by Tim)

This is a movie about the guy who writes Citizen Kane, and jumps back and forth between his life before writing it and his life during the writing. It is filmed in a genuinely beautiful black and white, and lots of the camera work and framing intentionally copy the techniques Citizen Kane brought to the forefront. These are surface things that I noticed having seen both movies once, but I got the sense that this movie was made for devoted movie fans to salivate over. The characters are all real people, most of the names I didn't recognize, but I was sure that people who are film junkies were reacting the same way Marvel fans do when Stan Lee shows up.

The story was good, but way more political than I thought it would be. I assumed it would be reliving the experiences that inspired the writing of Mank's masterwork, but it seemed to be dabbling in more recent topics like fake news and the media's role in politics. It wasn't distracting or forced, if anything a reminder that things like this have been going on forever.

The acting was great, and I am sure these actors will have be getting some award buzz come Oscar time (I mean, what other movies have even come out?). There were a couple stand out scenes, and I did enjoy watching it, but I don't think I ever need to see it again. They say Hollywood loves movies about Hollywood, and this does feel like a love letter to the person who wrote (what some would say) the greatest movie of all time.

Shout out to Charles Dance, whose dominating voice makes any movie/show better.