The David Fincher directorial Citizen Cane. In Mank, the injured writer dictates the screenplay for Citizen Kane from the bed while Rita Alexander, played by Lily Collins types it out for him.
In a series of flashbacks, the premise is set and it shows the audience the Hollywood of the 1930s and 40s and the climate of the times. Mank is beautifully shot in black-and-white and Gary Oldman delivers an outstanding performance. Here are some of the best lines in the movie.
I Won't Work With Half The Producers On The Lot, And The Other Half Won't Work With Me.
Herman J. Mankiewicz is an eccentric writer and has his own quirky set of behaviors and ways of doing things. This didn't exactly make him a favorite among the rest of the people on the production side in the studio. While working in MGM, this becomes very evident courtesy of Mank's style of working, and way of talking, and so on. He's especially outspoken about his politics and this causes him a lot of trouble as well. But he is quite self-aware about this, itting the same to his wife even when he's drunk.
Why Is It When Houseman Edits, Everyone Ends Up Speaking Like A Constipated Oxford Don?
Mank makes this very witty remark to Rita when he reads the edits Houseman had made to his script. Mank is a brilliant writer and therefore is not appreciative of the way in which Houseman edits the script to make the dialogue unnaturally stiff. But Mank's sense of humor comes visibly through in this line, comparing the style of talking to that of "constipated Oxford dons."
We've Got To Get People Into Theatres, But How? - Show Movies In The Streets.
When David O. asks the writers in the room to suggest ways to get people into the theatres, there is a pregnant pause. This is the time of the Great Depression in America so it's a very difficult ask of them and the writers know this as well, and so they keep quiet. But Mank very nonchalantly replies back that maybe they should just show movies in the streets.
Charles Lederer raises his hat to cover his smirk because it is such an incredulous proposition that Mank has laid out in front of their boss.
There's A Golden Age Coming When All The World Will Be A Stage, And You, Perhaps, Their Shakespeare.
There's a walk-and-talk between Mank and William Hearst and Mank tells him of his profession of the "humble screenwriter." Hearst tells him there's no need to be humble because he realizes that talking pictures are the future. And when that future comes, he knows that they'll need clever writers like Mank who "honor words, give them voice." It's also a direct reference to one of the most famous first lines from a Shakespearean sonnet.
Now, How Many Gangsters Do Americans Meet In A Lifetime?
Hearst points out that he intends to make good films in the future with the help of literary minds that'll entertain audiences. He doesn't want to continue doing what the studios were doing back then. Studios mostly produced gangster films and he pointedly raises the question of the disproportionate amount of gangster films in comparison to their real-world relevance.
If I Could Swim, I'd Be Doing Swimmingly.
This is just one of the fine examples of Mank's charming style of talking. When his wife was concerned about him, Mank tries to put her concern to rest saying that he was fine. But of course, the amazing writer he is, it is only appropriate that he answers such a simple question in this extremely interesting manner that is equal parts humorous and consoling.
I Couldn't Have Put It Better Myself, Which May Be Why I Write For The Movies.
When Rita says that "He went out like a light," Mank agrees that he couldn't have phrased it better than her. And then in his self-deprecating manner adds that maybe that is why he writes for the movies. Writing for the movies was not considered as dignified or literary a profession as writing for the theatre or for publication.
Mostly journalists and writers took up screenwriting simply for the money. Writing for the movies also meant writing in a more simplified manner to reach the masses and therefore this sentiment Mank shares is reflective of that.
You Cannot Capture A Man's Entire Life In Two Hours. All You Can Hope Is To Leave The Impression Of One.
This is one of those very meta lines in the Hollywood biographical drama. In the film, Mank writes about William Hearst, and Citizen Kane is greatly inspired by the man. But Mank knows that it is not possible to capture the man's entire life story in the span of a short two-hour film. So it is only an impression that can be left. This is quite meta because the movie Mank is also about a man, and the movie also cannot capture his entire life but, definitely does leave an impression.
You're Not The First Person To Trade Integrity For A Chance In The Big Chair.
Shelly Metcalf shot the propaganda films for MGM that ed Frank Merriam. These propaganda films against Upton Sinclair had influence over the voting public and Shelly was very upset when Sinclair lost. Shelly himself ed Sinclair but made the propaganda films because it was the first time he had gotten an opportunity to direct.
He was feeling incredibly guilty and Mank tries to console him saying that many before him had traded integrity for opportunities as well.
I Want Credit. It's The Best Thing I've Ever Written.
Mank had signed a contract with Orson Welles g away his writing credits. He had done so because he was desperate and needed the work. But upon finishing the screenplay for Citizen Kane and receiving for it, he realizes that it isn't wise to not have his name on his work. He its to an incredibly angry Orson Welles that he wants credit because it was truly the best thing he had written. This is the fundamental moment in Hollywood history that the movie tries to highlight.
