QUIP OR FLOP Seyfried and Oldman share sparkling repartee in Fincher's period pastiche.
Our streaming entertainment options are overwhelming — and not always easy to sort through. This week, I watched
Mank, director David Fincher's tribute to old Hollywood and to his late father, Jack Fincher, who wrote the screenplay. The film was released on Netflix after a brief theatrical run and is likely to be an awards contender.
The deal
Once, screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) was the toast of Hollywood, with a renowned wit that made him a favorite dinner guest of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. But by 1940, years of boozing and gambling have caught up with "Mank."