Netflix’s Mank Leans Heavily on the Parable of the Organ Grinder’s Monkey

The following story contains spoilers for David Fincher’s new Netflix film, Mank. The key relationship of David Fincher’s Mank is between screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, or, Mank, and powerful media magnate William Randolph Hearst. While Hearst and Mank initially get along, their relationship sours throughout the course of the film; both men eventually compare their relationship to the parable of the organ grinder’s monkey. Understanding this parable—and the fact that both characters recognize the parallels—is key to understanding the themes of Fincher’s film. David Fincher’s Mank—his first feature film since 2014’s Gone Girl—is ostensibly a story about Old Hollywood. On its surface, if one was summarizing the plot in just a sentence: it’s a movie about a guy (Gary Oldman) racing against not only a limited timetable, but his own devices (he’s an alcoholic and also a bit of an egghead) to complete the script for what the audience knows will eventually become arguably the greatest movie o… Click below to read the full story from Men’s Health
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