Saturday, April 10, 2021

Mank (2020)

Nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Best Sound, Best Production Design, Best Original Score, Best Makeup and Hair, Best Costumes, and Best Cinematography     Well this is definitely Netflix's prestige picture.  Ten nominations!  

In 1941, screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) is hired by then-24-year-old Orson Welles (Tom Burke) to write a scathing indictment of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst (Charles Dance) in the thinly veiled Citizen Kane.  To do so, Mank must think back on his own interactions with Hearst in the '30s as a guest at the lavish San Simeon ranch/palace, Hearst's political machinations, and his Hollywood obsession with his mistress, Marion Davies (Amanda Seyfried).  

This is 1000% Oscar catnip.  It combines a modern (and therefore safe) censure of old-time corruption, which allows the Academy members to nod virtuously while ignoring their own gross missteps, peppered with knowing little winks and nods to the process of creating movies.  It briefly mentions WWII and is a biopic of a (white, male) Oscar winner.  That's bingo right there.

It is probably the most fun Best Picture nominee so far.  Tom Pelphrey was my standout performer.  I also think it's got Best Original Score in the bag.  I think the other categories are too close to call right now (or I haven't seen enough of the nominees yet.)

It's currently streaming on Netflix.

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