Mank Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

By Jack Pooley / December 4, 2020

1. The Gorgeous Cinematography

And again surprising few, Fincher's film is absolutely ravishing from a visual perspective, largely thanks to the eye-watering, note-perfect cinematography of Fincher's Mindhunter collaborator Erik Messerschmidt.

It's all too apt that a film centered around the creation of Citizen Kane - itself a cinematographic landmark with Gregg Toland's groundbreaking deep focus - takes similar advantage of its monochromatic presentation to deliver rich contrast and deep depth of field.

It's in this sense that Mank is perhaps best observed as a true love letter to classic Hollywood, even if it also has much to say about the toxic aspects of the era.