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Axel Matfin

Trumbo or Mank?

There's the 2015 Jay Roach directed and Bryan Cranston starring film Trumbo about famous  Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who was subpoenaed to testify the House Committee on Un-American Activities during the communist witch hunts of post war America, and then subsequently placed on the Hollywood Blacklist, when he refused to cooperate.

 

Then there's the 2020 David Fincher directed and Gary Oldman starring film Mank! about another famous Hollywood screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he feverishly develops the screenplay for Citizen Kane.

 

I recently realized that I've seen neither of these films and for a long time had just conflated them into being the same thing. I'll probably give them both a spin in the near future as I'm a big fan of stories about the golden age of Hollywood.

 

Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on either? 

Mentioned in this piece

Jay RoachBryan CranstonDalton TrumboDavid FincherGary OldmanHerman J. Mankiewicz

Comments 2

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Gwen PemAugust 19, 2025
I love Fincher, but I've gotta go with Trumbo on this one. I can't even really put my finger on why, but Mank! felt really empty to me. More like a history lesson than a film
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Bob WoolseyAugust 19, 2025
I saw Mank! and I enjoyed it. Fincher and Oldman, you can't really go wrong. I never saw Trumbo though, and I had no idea it was directed by Jay Roach! I might have to check it out.