Mank Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs
5. The Excellent Ensemble Cast
Beyond Gary Oldman, Mank is a sure embarrassment of riches as casts go. For starters, Amanda Seyfried gives easily the strongest performance of her career as actress and wife of Hearst, Marion Davies.
Though our first impression of Davies might be that she's a typical bombshell starlet, it quickly becomes clear that Marion is far smarter than her faultless exterior might suggest, and every scene Seyfried shares with Oldman is absolute gold.
She's therefore a lock for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nod, and if the winds don't change months from now, she could even win the thing outright.
Elsewhere we've already discussed the fine efforts of Tom Burke, Charles Dance, and Arliss Howard, while Lily Collins and Tuppence Middleton make strong impressions as Mank's secretary and wife respectively, Tom Pelphrey is terrific as his brother Joseph, and Jamie McShane is unexpectedly affecting in a small role as Mank's aspiring filmmaker friend Shelly Metcalf.
It won't surprise anyone that another Fincher film has attracted a killer ensemble, and it's sure to make Mank a fierce contender at next year's Screen Actors Guild Awards.