Best Pictures #72: 2020 (93rd) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee: Mank

 by A.J. 

Best Pictures #72: 2020 (93rd) Academy Awards Best Picture Nominee

Mank

“What writer failed to notice the Screen Writers Guild needs an apostrophe?”

At first glance, Mank seems like a movie I would very much enjoy, and, if I’m being honest, probably be lenient towards. It is a combination of all of my favorite movie things: it is a movie about making movies, about a writer, set in classic Hollywood, depicting real life figures and events, and directed by a modern master filmmaker. The only thing it is missing for me is a role for Judy Greer or Natalie Portman or Anne Hathaway. Specifically, Mank is about the screenwriter Herman J.Mankiewicz and his professional and personal experiences working in Hollywood in the 1930’s that led to him to write Citizen Kane. The master filmmaker is David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network). I believe he is one of the truly great directors working today, but Mank does not come close to measuring up. Mank is not a bad movie at all, but it is an underwhelming one. 

Mank opens with a conventional biopic setup. Having recently broken his leg in a car accident, semi-washed up, semi-alcoholic Herman Mankiewicz, referred to by everyone—and quite frequently—as Mank, is taken to a bungalow to recover, dry out, and write a screenplay for the highly anticipated film debut of Broadway and radio wunderkind Orson Welles. An English typist played by Lily Collins is assigned to take dictation and as Mankiewicz works, he reflects on his past. 

The “present” of Mank is 1940, but the bulk of the film takes place in flashbacks to Mankiewicz’s days as a contract writer for the studio system in the 1930’s. Gary Oldman (now in his early 60’s) plays Mankiewicz in 1940 (when Mankiewicz was in his early 40’s) and also in the flashbacks (when Mankiewicz was in his 30’s). The age difference between the actor and the character is worth noting because it means that Oldman is always in makeup or shadow or peculiar lighting. No matter where we are in the timeline, Mankiewicz always feels like a weary soul. Gary Oldman is without a doubt one of the most versatile actors, capable of disappearing into a role (with or without the aid of makeup and costumes). He does a fine job playing the principled, semi-alcoholic writer whose talents are for his craft, not the social and political side of Hollywood. Just like everything else in the movie, Oldman’s work is adequate and neither sinks nor saves the movie.

Mank is filled with inaccuracies that go beyond the usual dramatic license you expect from a movie based on a true story. This is bound to frustrate those familiar with the events and people depicted and leave those that aren’t familiar with the wrong impression. It is well known that the main character of Citizen Kane is based, in part, on newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who was very involved in Hollywood to bolster the career of his girlfriend/mistress, Marion Davies (Amanda Seyfried). It is also true that the Hollywood studios created fake newsreels for the 1934 California gubernatorial election to derail the campaign of progressive Democratic candidate Upton Sinclair and swing the election to the Republican candidate. There is little to no evidence that Mankiewicz found himself at the center of the studio executives’ election scheme or that he wrote Citizen Kane as a shot at Hearst for the part he played in producing the fake newsreels. The screenplay, written by Jack Fincher, director David’s father, seems to take its cues regarding the writing of Citizen Kane from the largely discredited essay “Raising Kane” written by Pauline Kael, in which she claims that Orson Welles played no part in the writing of Citizen Kane and simply added his name to the screenplay.

I was really disappointed by the attention paid to Mankiewicz’s friendship with Marion Davies and her portrayal overall. Of course, Davies was more than just the actress turned trophy girl of a rich man, but she has only a few scenes, one of which of which gives her no lines. I did not get a real sense of her as a person or her friendship with Mankiewicz. Amanda Seyfried has earned a Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance as Davies; I wish I had seen what the Academy saw.

Screenwriters do not usually get A-level biopics—I can’t remember any aside from Trumbo, another lackluster movie. I’m glad that Mank turned the spotlight from Welles to Mankiewicz, even if the film is less interesting than its subject. Hopefully Mank inspires its audience to learn more about the writer, his work, and the at times unsavory, but nonetheless interesting, behind-the-scenes of classic Hollywood.

P.S.

You will find a fuller but still incomplete portrayal of Marion Davies and her relationship with Hearst in the films RKO 281 and The Cat’s Meow. Those films also give a fuller picture of the seemingly unlimited power and influence of Hearst. Neither of those films has the heavy-duty credentials of Mank, but they leave a deeper impression. 

Nominees: Ceán Chaffin, Eric Roth, Douglas Urbanski, producers

Director: David Fincher

Screenplay: Jack Fincher; 

Cast: Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins

Production Companies: Netflix International Pictures, Flying Studio, Panic Pictures, Blue Light

Distributor: Netflix

Release Date: November 13th, 2020

Total Nominations: 10, including Best Picture

Other Nominations: Actor-Gary Oldman; Supporting Actress-Amanda Seyfried; Director-David Fincher; Cinematography-Erik Messerschmidt; Costume Design-Trish Summerville; Makeup and Hairstyling-Gigi Williams, Kimberley Spiteri, Colleen LaBaff; Original Score-Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross; Production Design-Donald Graham Burt (production design), Jan Pascale (set decoration); Sound-Ren Klyce,Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance, Drew Kunin

Classic Movie Picks: April 2021

by Lani

I used to scour the Turner Classic Movies schedule each month for upcoming films that I couldn’t miss and post the highlights here for your reading and viewing pleasure! It’s been a few...years, but who’s counting? (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

After a delayed start, it is finally award season in Hollywood, which means it's time for TCM's "31 Days of Oscar" programming. Each day in April features films which were Academy Award winners or nominees and the films are being shown from A to Z, ending with Best Foreign Language Film winner Z on May 1. Coincidentally this was the gimmick in 2017, which was the last time I blogged about 31 Days of Oscar. By the way, if you don't have cable, you can stream films on the TCM app, but they don't stay available for very long after the air date, or usually find the films to stream or rent through other platforms. Here are my top picks for the month:

4/3, 9:45 PM - Carol (2015) 

I was happy to see that TCM has included several movies from the 2000s in this year’s 31 Days line-up. The canon of classic films is not a fixed list; it should always be re-evaluated and refreshed as new art is made. Carol was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, but notably not Best Picture. Director Todd Haynes combines the lush elegance of a Douglas Sirk melodrama with contemporary storytelling in this romantic drama about a shopgirl and a housewife drawn to each other, but restricted by 1950s conventions. 

4/7, 10:15AM - Gaslight (1944)

“Gaslighting” has become a ubiquitous buzzword in the last few years. But how many people have actually seen the film that gave us that term? Technically, “gaslighting” means when someone lies to you so that you begin to doubt your own sanity and then you can be committed to an asylum and your tormentor can steal your aunt’s jewels. Ingrid Bergman won Best Actress for her performance as a woman driven mad. The film received seven nominations in total, including Best Picture, which it lost to Going My Way. Keep an eye out for a young Angela Lansbury in her first film role as Bergman’s maid, she received a Best Supporting Actress nomination.

4/10, 3PM - Hope and Glory (1987)

The title may sound generic, but this charming and warm story of British civilian life during WWII will stick with you. Told through the eyes of a young boy, the film is based on writer-director John Boorman’s own experiences during the London blitz. The film received five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, but did not win any awards; in fact it lost in almost every category to that year’s big winner, The Last Emperor. 

4/18, 8PM - Nebraska (2013)

Omaha-born Alexander Payne is one of my favorite contemporary filmmakers. His films - including Election, About Schmidt, and Sideways - depict familiar, everyday people with biting dark humor. Nebraska is no exception as the story of a cantankerous elderly man and his adult son on a road trip to collect sweepstakes winnings. While several of Payne’s films have earned Oscar nominations, 2013’s Nebraska received the most with six. Surprisingly, it did not win in any category, though lead actor Bruce Dern and Phedon Papamichael’s black and white cinematography were certainly top contenders that year. 

4/23, 10:30PM - The Red Shoes (1948)

This film about a dancer torn between a devotion to her art and a desire for a conventional life was the 10th collaboration of the celebrated filmmaking team of director Michael Powell and producer Emeric Pressburger. It was nominated in Best picture and four additional categories, winning much-deserved awards for the art direction and the score. It is visually dazzling, particularly the ballet sequences starring real-life ballerina Moira Shearer. Anton Walbrook, a favorite character actor for Powell & Pressburger is also particularly good as Lermontov, the impresario who gives Shearer’s character her big break. 

4/28, 1:15AM - The Third Man (1949)

If you’ve never seen this one, set the DVR, get the app, whatever you need to do - just watch it. This atmospheric post-WWII noir follows an American investigating a friend’s suspicious death in Vienna. Though Orson Welles gets all the memorable lines, this is really a Joseph Cotten film. Cotten came to Hollywood with Welles as a member of Welles’ Mercury Theatre Company and after a large supporting role in 1941’s Citizen Kane, Cotten transitioned into a successful, decades-long movie career (including a role 1944’s Gaslight). The film received nominations for direction and editing, but the striking cinematography garnered the film’s only win. 

Classic Movie Picks: May 2014

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies schedule for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings orTCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

5/8, 4:30 AM - Marat/Sade (1966)
In Charenton Asylum, 1808, the Marquis de Sade directs a play, featuring his fellow inmates, which reenacts the events surrounding the death of radical journalist Jean-Paul Marat in 1793. What could go wrong, right? Part of an evening dedicated to 1960s stage-to-screen adaptations, this film is based on a 1965 production by the Royal Shakespeare Company and features Patrick Magee as Sade, Ian Richardson as Marat, and Glenda Jackson as the assassin Charlotte Corday. Fun fact: The full title of the play and film is "The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade."

5/12: Starring Mitzi Gaynor
12:15 AM - The I Don't Care Girl (1953)
1:45 AM - Mitzi: A Tribute to the American Housewife (1974)
Tonight's line-up highlights triple-threat Mitzi Gaynor. During her ingenue days at 20th Century Fox, Gaynor was overshadowed by another blonde -- Marilyn Monroe -- despite her formidable singing and dancing talents. Those talents are showcased in the musical biopic The I Don't Care Girl as Gaynor portrays vaudeville superstar Eva Tanguay, featuring lively musical numbers by choreographer Jack Cole. My second pick of the night is one of Gaynor's successful 1970s TV specials adapted from material she performed in her touring stage shows. Though the premise sounds dubious (a tribute to housewives?), director/choreographer Tony Charmoli managed to win an Emmy for choreography, which is enough to get me interested.

5/19: Made by Brooksfilm
10 PM - 84 Charing Cross Road (1987)
12 AM - The Doctor and the Devils (1985)
TCM pays tribute to Brooksfilms, the production company founded by Mel Brooks, with six movies on May 19 & 20, four of which feature Brooks' wife Anne Bancroft. I've picked two films which are new to me, but sound worth a look. 84 Charing Cross Road is based on the true story of a 20-year correspondence between New York writer Helene Hanff and antique book dealer Frank Doel in London. While their initial letters were about obscure & out-of-print books, eventually the two began to delve into topics discussed by close friends. They never met face to face, their correspondence ending with Frank's death in 1968. Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins star as Hanff and Doel with Judi Dench appearing in a small role as Doel's wife. 
There's not much information on TCM.com or IMDB.com about The Doctor and the Devils, but after reading the brief plot description I have to assume the film is based on the true tale of notorious 19th century grave robbers turned murderers Burke and Hare. (Their story was most recently told in the 2010 film Burke and Hare starring Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis.) Jonathan Pryce and Stephen Rea star as the titular devils Fallon and Brown, while Timothy Dalton plays the doctor who uses the stolen cadavers for medical experiments. 

Star of the Month: June Allyson
5/21, 12 AM - Good News (1947)
5/28, 8 PM - My Man Godfrey (1957)
The films of June Allyson are taking over primetime on Wednesdays this month. To enjoy June Allyson at her charming best, you could do worse than the light and frothy college musical Good News. Peter Lawford co-stars as a football player who needs help from perky tutor Allyson to pass French class. The fact that Lawford's French accent is much better than Allyson's should be politely ignored. I'm also looking forward to seeing the remake of My Man Godfrey co-starring David Niven. The story from the Depression-era screwball classic has been updated here with Niven playing an Austrian WWII refugee in the United States illegally. Allyson plays the daffy heiress who hires Niven's Godfrey to be  her family's butler. Since the 1936 version with William Powell and Carole Lombard is one of my favorite movies, I'm interested to see how the later version tried to make the story it's own.

5/29, 10:15 PM - F for Fake (1973)
Orson Welles's final masterpiece is ostensibly a documentary about an art forger; however, the film also touches upon the art of filmmaking, magic and trickery, as well as a famous publishing scandal. It's all in service of asking "what is truth in art?"

Friday Night Spotlight: Australian Cinema
TCM's Friday Night Spotlight has been consistently serving up interesting themes and films. This month the spotlight shines on Australian New Wave cinema of the 1970s and 80s, focusing on several notable auteurs including Bruce Beresford, Peter Weir, Jane Campion, Gillian Armstrong, and Phillip Noyce. Hosted by Oscar-nominated Aussie actress Jacki Weaver, this series offers a lot of intriguing films. If you haven't seen Breaker Morant or Picnic at Hanging Rock, seek them out.

Classic Movie Picks: December 2013

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies schedule for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

12/10: Patton's Picks
11:45 PM - The Wind Journeys (2009)
2 AM - Aaltra (2004)
This month's TCM Guest Programmer, comedian Patton Oswalt, has chosen two foreign "road movies" which, although they were made within the last decade, I had never heard of until now; both sound intriguing. The Wind Journeys is a celebration of the "vallenato" music of northern Colombia. It follows the journey of a widowed musician and his teenage traveling companion, as they return a precious (and perhaps magical?) accordion to the master craftsman who made it. In Aaltra, a Belgian/French production, feuding neighbors join forces after they are both paralyzed in a farming accident. The two men set out across Europe to confront the Finnish manufacturer of the defective farm equipment, slowed down only by their own lack of legal savvy, money, and common sense.
BONUS: Patton's picks earlier in the evening are worth a watch,too - Kind Hearts and Coronets at 8 PM and 3:10 to Yuma at 10 PM.

12/14, 9:45 PM - Tomorrow is Forever (1946)
Another film that's new to me is this melodrama starring some of my favorite classic movie actors; it's scheduled as part of an evening tribute to Claudette Colbert between the excellent screwball comedies The Palm Beach Story at 8 PM and Midnight at 11:45 PM. A WWI veteran (Orson Welles), disfigured in the war, chooses to be reported dead rather than return to his wife (Colbert) and son. Years later, he re-enters her life, accompanied by a war orphan (Natalie Wood), and though she has remarried, old feelings arise. 

12/18, 2 AM - A Damsel in Distress (1937)

Fred Astaire is the TCM Star of the Month which means that each Wednesday in primetime, including Christmas Day, you're guaranteed a line-up of delightful musical comedies with amazing dancing by Astaire and an array of talented partners. I'm singling out Damsel because it's one of the few Astaire films that I haven't seen. At this point, Fred and Ginger Rogers had made seven musicals together and decided to take a break, which left him free to star opposite a 19-year-old Joan Fontaine in one of her earliest film roles. Fontaine was no dancer, but she certainly fits the part of a sheltered English "damsel" who is "rescued" by an American musical star played by Astaire (not much of a stretch for him either). While this film didn't mark the debut of the next great dance team, it does feature 8 hummable Gershwin tunes, including "A Foggy Day" and "Nice Work if You Can Get It." Gracie Allen and George Burns provide comic relief and some fancy footwork of their own. Astaire's later films often feature complicated numbers devised by Astaire and his collaborator, Hermes Pan, which pair the dancer with unlikely objects, such as a hat rack in Royal Wedding or a shop full of toys in Easter Parade. However, "Put Me to the Test" in Damsel, in which Astaire, Allen, and Burns all dance with whisk brooms, was designed by Burns.

12/21, 10:30 PM - Christmas Eve (1947)
I always enjoy discovering a new holiday movie, especially when it has more to its story than a Hallmark-style romance. To save her fortune from a scheming nephew, an eccentric philanthropist (Ann Harding) has until Christmas Eve to reunite her three adopted sons who have dispersed around the world. The sons are played by George Raft, George Brent, and Randolph Scott and each one is dealing with complications of his own - fiancee troubles, illegal baby adoption, and hidden Nazi loot, for example - that could prevent them from coming to mom's rescue. Will goodness prevail over greed?

12/30: In Memoriam
8 PM - It Started with Eve (1941)
Deanna Durbin
9:45 PM - Bikini Beach (1964)
Annette Funicello
11:30 PM - The Cheap Detective (1978)
Eileen Brennan
1:15 AM - The Loved One (1965)
Jonathan Winters
3:30 AM - Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Karen Black
5:15 AM - East of Eden (1955)
Julie Harris
12/31, 7:15 AM - Tea and Sympathy (1956)
John Kerr
Movie-lovers mourned the passing of many beloved performers this year and tonight TCM pays tribute to six actors and actresses who were not honored with special programming earlier in the year. I'm especially looking forward to the first three films in the line-up featuring three fabulous singing ladies.
- It Started with Eve stars Deanna Durbin at the peak of her career as a singing ingenue, alongside two of her favorite co-stars, Charles Laughton and Robert Cummings. 
- I love the "Frankie and Annette" beach movies, but the plots tend to run together in my memory. Bikini Beach is the one in which the teens must deal with the British Invasion, in the form of pop star Potato Bug (also played by Frankie Avalon), and outsmart a tycoon's pet chimp.
- A spoof of the detective genre, The Cheap Detective, combines the plots of several of Humphrey Bogart's best films with Peter Falk as a Bogey-esque gumshoe. Tonight's honoree, Eileen Brennan portrays a torch singer at "Nix Place" (sound familiar?).

Happy Holidays!

Classic Movie Picks: January

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies Now Playing guide for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

1/6: The Stranger (1:15 PM) - This Orson Welles film from 1946 is the one that nobody seems to mention when they talk about his directing career. Loretta Young plays a school teacher who suspects that her husband may be an escaped Nazi war criminal. Edward G. Robinson and Welles also star. Worth checking out if you are a fan of his other films.

1/8: In honor of Elvis Presley's birthday, TCM is showing a day of movies starring the King himself. Yes, the plots may be corny and the songs are sometimes silly, but any of Elvis's movies are worth seeing simply because of Elvis! He is an undeniably charismatic and likable performer and great fun to watch whenever he starts to sing (which in these films is quite often). If you can't spare an entire day, here's the best of the bunch (in my opinion): Girl Happy (1:00 PM), Blue Hawaii (4:30 PM), Viva Las Vegas (6:15 PM). And in primetime, you can see two concert films, Elvis on Tour and and newly restored version of Elvis: That's The Way It Is.

1/17: When you hear the name Alec Guinness, you may think "serious British actor" or, more likely, "Obi Wan Kenobi." So you may not be familiar with Alec Guinness the comedian. In Kind Hearts and Coronets (10 AM), a young man sets out dispatch every heir who stands between him and the family fortune. The versatile Guinness plays all the unfortunate relatives, 8 roles in all! Guinness's contemporary Peter Sellers is better known for playing multiple roles within the same movie (Dr. Strangelove..., The Mouse that Roared), but here Guinness proves that he is Sellers's peer in every respect.
This month you can also see Guinness, starring alongside Peter Sellers, planning to rob a little old lady in the classic comedy The Ladykillers (1/25, 3:15 PM). If you were unimpressed with the recent remake by the usually excellent Coen brothers, I would urge you to watch the original. In case you were wondering, the earlier film contains no Irritable Bowel Syndrome jokes.

Happy New Year and happy movie watching!