Mank

Great looking and great sounding movie, but I wish I’d been sitting next to a Hollywood film historian as I watched this so I could ask questions and get clarifications. It assumes the viewer knows a lot of the history already, which can be frustrating. Performances are all top-notch and, like the cinematography, will probably get a bunch of nominations. But there's something aloof and impersonal about this -- watching a drunk rant from afar. Filmmakers here are always keeping the audience at an arm's length, and you sometimes wish it was somehow more intimate. Nevertheless, a grand and high-caliber entertainment.