Review of Mank rating ***
As the year draws to a close, I will soon be putting out my best of everything nonfiction list. My criteria for making the list is four out of five stars or better. I liked this film. It kept my attention. It was entertaining. But I couldn’t get past Gary Oldman’s performance. The real Mankowitz did die from alcoholism. But in this film, the character was under the influence in nearly every scene. I got tired of seeing Gary Oldman stumbling around and being obnoxious to everyone he meets. His character was not likable.
I was also not a fan of the constant shifting timeline. I don’t mind a flashback or two. But this story jumped around a lot. The script was written by the director’s father. It had the feel of an early Hollywood film.
As for the story itself, I liked that a lot of the characters and plotlines were factual. But I’m not a fan of the film Citizen Kane. I would have liked to have seen more about the differences between Mank and Orson Wells and how Mank’s script morphed into the final film.
Bottom line is that this film is worth your time, but it’s not going on my best-of list for 2020. Catch it on Netflix.
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