Mank

Movie: Mank
Nominated for: Best Picture, Actress in a Supporting Role, Actor in a Leading Role, Director, Production Design, Cinematography, Costume Design, Achievement in Sound, Original Score, Make Up & Hairstyling
How I watched: Netflix
When I fell asleep: About 20 minutes in. I had to restart.
When it had me: It was never gripping.
When it lost me: It was never impossible to watch.
What I have to say: 

I started the movie and then stopped it. I fell asleep, true, but I also started to realize that this movie was very linked to Citizen Kane. So I decided to re-watch that classic before watching this one. It turns out Citizen Kane still fails to hold my attenntion. It has very cool camera tricks, lens usage and optical artistry but as a compelling story, it just doesn't grab me. That said, I think re-watching helped me to appreciate Mank.

My response to Mank is similar to my feelings for Citizen Kane. It is lighter on the cool camera effects and stronger on story overall. I would think Fincher would have wanted to evoke some of those really iconic shots from the older film, but apparently not. It jumps all over the place in time, with many flashbacks within flashbacks. They are mostly easy enough to follow. Gary Oldman is great in this. The movie winds its way through the political, creative, interpersonal and ethical challenges of Hollywood at the time. In the end, I'm not sure it reaches the dramatic crescendo I might have wished for.

It feels like such a safe and boring bet. A movie about an older beloved classic movie, evoking Hollywood's golden age of glamour and shot in black and white. It's as if Dr. Frankenstein is trying to cobble together the perfect pieces of an Academy Award winning film but somehow it still doesn't feel truly alive.

On the bright side, I am looking forward to the dramatization of Justin Fincher, screenwriter, and his challenges while writing Mank!