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When you watch a biographical movie about an artist, the drama of creativity — the writing of “In Cold Blood,” the invention of funk — tends to be front and center. But in “Mank,” David Fincher’s raptly intricate and enticing movie about Herman J. Mankiewicz, the fabled screenwriter of ’30s and ’40s Hollywood, and how he wrote the script for “Citizen Kane,” the act of creation is just one of many things that flow by. That’s part of what gives the movie its uniquely atmospheric, at times tumultuous tone of you-are-there authenticity. , and the effect is to lend it a dizzying time-machine splendor.

In the opening sequence, 1930s cars tool along a California country roadway, kicking up dust in a way that’s captured with supreme luster by Eric Messerschmidt’s exquisitely retro deep-focus black-and-white cinematography. The cars arrive at North Verde Ranch in Victorville, about 90 miles from Los Angeles,...

"Mank" is the new 1930's-set drama, directed by David Fincher starring actor Gary Oldman, notorious for ranting "Jews control Hollywood...", now oddly cast as Herman J. Mankiewicz, son of Jewish immigrants and screenwriter of "Citizen Kane", co-starring Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Tom Pelphrey, Sam Troughton, Ferdinand Kingsley, Tuppence Middleton, Tom Burke and Charles Dance, opening in a limited theatrical release November 2020, before streaming on Netflix December 4, 2020:

"...the film follows the life of writer Herman J. Mankiewicz (Oldman) as he scripted 'Citizen Kane' and the problems that arose with Orson Welles (Burke) during production, leading up to the movie's release..."

Cast also includes Joseph Cross as 'Charles Lederer', Jamie McShane as 'Shelly Metcalf', Toby Leonard Moore as 'David O. Selznick', Monika Grossman as 'Fraulein Freda', Jeff Harms as 'Ben Hecht' and Leven Rambin as 'Eve'. 

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