PROVOKR PICK: MANK
David Fincher Takes on 1930's Hollywood
Orson Welles’ 1941 feature film debut Citizen Kane is one of the most famous and influential films in American cinematic history. It is often considered the greatest movie ever made. The story follows the fictional newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane’s (a composite of media tycoons William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer and tycoons Samuel Insull and Harold McCormick, although mainly based on Hearst) rise to prominence. The film starts at the end, with Kane (Welles) lying on his deathbed uttering his final word, “Rosebud.” A reporter is then assigned to figure out the importance of the word Rosebud, and it is that investigation that begins our journey into the life of this imposing character.
Although the film was nominated for 9 Academy Awards, and even won one for Best Original Screenplay, William Randolph Hearst was less than pleased with the idea of Kane being modelled after himself. And, while he never even saw the movie, he went to great lengths to stop it from ever being released. According to Welles, he once encountered Hearst while in an elevator at the Fairmont Hotel on Citizen Kane’s opening night. Welles invited Hearst to come see the movie, but Hearst did not respond. As he was getting off at his floor, Welles reportedly called after him “Charles Foster Kane would have accepted.”
Now, David Fincher has a new biopic all about the making of this cinematic classic. Mank follows sarcastic, alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he tries to finish the script for Citizen Kane. Along the way, he found himself at odds with Welles, a notoriously difficult man. The movie, which is set in the 1930s, was shot entirely in black-and-white to keep with the theme of Hollywood’s Golden Era. Mank has a stellar cast that includes Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Charles Dance, and Bill Nye.
Mank had a limited theatrical release in the U.S. and Canada on November 13, 2020. It will stream on Netflix.
Watch Mank on Netflix starting December 4, 2020.
