Mank (2020)

Recovering from a broken leg in the desert, alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) writes the screenplay for CITIZEN KANE to be directed by wunderkind Orson Welles (Tom Burke). Directed by David Fincher (ZODIAC). I have no idea how much of the film is accurate. There's been much disagreement about how much of KANE's screenplay is Mankiewicz and how much is Welles with Pauline Kael suggesting that Mankiewicz is the primary author and Peter Bogdanovich debunking that as false. But when it comes to MANK, that's irrelevant. I quite liked it. Handsomely shot in B&W by Erik Messschmidt (FERRARI), who won the Oscar for his splendid work here, it's a fascinating look at the behind the scenes machinations of Hollywood film making in the 1930s and 40s. Poignant yet great fun. With Amanda Seyfried (in an Oscar nominated performance as Marion Davies), Charles Dance, Lily Collins, Arliss Howard, Tuppence Middleton and Tom Pelphrey.