79
Metascore
52 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawWhat an addictive romantic drama it is, mixing sentimentality with pure rapture.
- 88USA TodayBrian TruittUSA TodayBrian TruittA wonderful throwback about a flawed figure who took on a hostile era in Hollywood with choice words and major chutzpah.
- 83Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattEntertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattThe story then becomes less a forensic accounting of a masterpiece than a bittersweet ode to a certain slice of old Hollywood: part love letter, part cautionary tale, and still somehow a mystery.
- 83IndieWireEric KohnIndieWireEric KohnThough forged in a meticulous 1930s backdrop that merges historical detail with the style and tone of that era, “Mank” is hardly a playful throwback. Fincher has made a cerebral psychodrama that rewards the engaged cinephile audience in its crosshairs, but even when cold to the touch, the movie delivers a complex and insightful look at American power structures and the potential for a creative spark to rankle their foundations.
- 75RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyRogerEbert.comGlenn KennyI think the most productive way to look at Mank, a new film about Hollywood in the 1930s and ‘40s, and about the screenwriter of a particularly famous and iconic work, is to understand it as Fincher’s most playful work.
- 75Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenThe film's most haunting sequences are self-contained arias in which characters grapple with their powerlessness.
- 60IGNIGNThe reclamation project known as Mank falls short. Even with showy performances from Oldman and Seyfried, and its beautiful craft, the film lacks heart. Because underneath the wisecracks and drunken debauchery, in the face of a sweeping political narrative, there’s scarcely an impression of the man.
- 60UproxxMike RyanUproxxMike RyanIt’s an admirable effort. It’s just a beautiful thing to look at. And the whole endeavor is such a touching tribute from Fincher to his father. But, in the end, I found myself more interested in the behind the scenes shenanigans that led to the creation of, perhaps, the greatest movie of all time, as opposed to Mank the human being. And Mank focuses much more on the latter.
- 58The PlaylistJason BaileyThe PlaylistJason BaileyThere is some pleasure in spotting the winks and legends and shout-outs, but as with any biopic, of any figure, you can’t just bank on familiarity— you have to give the unfamiliar viewer (and, considering the platform it’s on, there will be many) reasons to care. By the end of Mank, even I wasn’t sure any of this mattered all that much.
- 50The Film StageNick NewmanThe Film StageNick NewmanThe exposition-mountain screenplay leaves little to feel just as a devotion to the written word leaves scant room for anything to look at. I’m slightly unsure what anybody involved was hoping to get from the experience, much less what’s the takeaway sans basic admiration for baseline craft.