David Fincher’s new film "Mank" immediately envelops you in gorgeous, black-and-white textures. The contrasts between lightest and darkest values are stunning, owing to cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt’s use of RED digital cameras and Hi-Dynamic filming processes.
This visual sensibility is augmented by the film’s well-pitched score, created by Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Forget NIN’s industrial rock sound; Reznor and Ross use only instruments of the film's time - late 1930s and early '40s - to produce what they claim is period-appropriate music in the mono sound of that moment.
Reznor and Ross earned an Academy Award scoring Fincher’s 2010 movie, "The Social Network." They subsequently collaborated with Fincher on "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2011) and "Gone Girl" (2014). Fincher likes to work with long-time partners he trusts such as production designer Donald Graham Burt, with whom he worked on "Mank." Interestingly, the "Mank" screenplay was written by Fincher’s late father Jack.
The visual and audio treatments may be the best things about "Mank." The Netflix-produced film traces Herman Mankiewicz’s effort to develop the screenplay for Orson Welles’ "Citizen Kane" (1941), recovering as he is from an auto accident, addled by severe alcoholism, and under constant pressure by Welles to produce a masterpiece in record time. Of course, the previously referenced excellence in cinematography and sound are themselves homages to "Citizen Kane."
Gary Oldman plays Herman Mankiewicz and his performance as the perpetually disheveled and frequently inebriated Mank is a tour de force. His physical transformation for the part also makes him virtually unrecognizable.
This is not a film for everyone. It’s a welcome niche product with little mass market appeal. I enjoyed it because I love the culture and politics of mid-20th Century Los Angeles - including “Old Hollywood” - and know of the characters depicted, from Mankiewicz and Welles to John Houseman, William Randolph Hearst, Marion Davies, Louis Mayer, and Ben Hecht.
Fincher’s work otherwise meanders and, at times, falls flat. It’s a little spacey and plodding, as well. It can also seem too precious and self-conscious. That said, I’m nonetheless eager to watch it again.
As with many actual works of art in moviedom, the critics loved "Mank" and yet too few people will ever see the film for it to make a serious mark. After all, it wasn’t until decades following its release that "Citizen Kane" was accorded the popular respect and appreciation it was due.
Image courtesy of Bleeding Cool.