The Twits Come for Mank

Predictably, Friday’s release of Mank has yielded the usual backlash on Twitter, as people discover that an artful movie about old Hollywood is not the same as actual history. Many were SHOCKED to discover that old man Gary Oldman (62) was playing a character who was twenty years younger than that when the story took place (of course, Herman Mankiewicz was a heavy smoker and world-class alcoholic, and looked considerably older than we would expect a 40 year old to look today, but never mind). Also, some distress about the white maleness of it all and the lack of Jewishness among some of the actors playing Jews.

Also, man, who were all these people? Are we supposed to know who they were? Why did David Fincher want to bore us with boring old boredom? And where are the women and black people? Why are they being erased? Plus, why was it in black and white, to make us mad? And while we’re on the subject, let’s also complain about the digital cinematography compared to black and white movies shot on film. Jesus, why wasn’t this movie just about other things and starring other people and produced totally differently?

While we’re at it, let’s also complain about how overrated Citizen Kane is. Did you know it was also in black and white?