10 Films To Get You In The Mood For David Fincher's Mank
6. Chinatown
Not only is Chinatown ranked consistently as one of the best films of the 1970s, if not of all time, it is also set in the right place and time to get cinephiles in the mood for Mank. This 1930s L.A. set noir thriller is nothing short of magnificent, and doubtless the sort of film that whets the appetite for more period picture celluloid.
Following Jack Nicholson's J.J. 'Jake' Gittes as he uncovers the mysteries surrounding the murder of the chief engineer of L.A.'s Department of Water and Power, Chinatown's labyrinthine mystery is a truly sophisticated piece of noir cinema, laced with sensibilities more akin to European cinema than its American counterpart. Indeed, Robert Towne's screenplay is often cited as one of the greatest ever written and the film has deservedly won itself a lasting reputation for excellence.
Fincher's own cinematic sensibilities are very close to those of pictures like Chinatown. Though Mank is not the mystery film that Chinatown is, you can expect the same atmosphere, the same sense of fading grandeur and duplicity. As part of a pre-Mank film marathon to get you in the mood, you would be mad to leave this revered classic off your list.