In the grand scheme of modern-day filmmakers,David Fincherremains one of the most prolific directors. Following a career as a music video director and then stepping into the world of film by directingAlien 3, an experience that nearly made him quit before he got started, Fincher had a run of stellar movies that any director would dream of having. FromSe7entoFight ClubtoZodiac, Fincher proved that he was a director with a vision and a unique style that was made for the big screen.
This is why it has been depressing, as a fan of his work, to see him squandering that talent forNetflix. Over the last 10 years, his films have been released exclusively on the platform thanks to his deal with the streamer. He no doubt has other reasons for his affiliation with Netflix, but Fincher’s output on the big screen is sorely missed because of it.
Fincher’s relationship with Netflix began in 2013 when he served as an executive producer on the original series,House of Cards. The series, of which he directed the first two episodes, became significant for the streamer because it began their foray into original programming, which has only continued to dominate over the years. Because of the success ofHouse of Cards, Fincher spearheaded otherprojects with the platform, includingMindhunterandLove, Death & Robots, with the former emerging as one of their best projects.
In film, Fincher continued to work with Netflix, with his films since 2019 (MankandThe Killer) getting a limited theatrical release before heading straight to the streamer. Sadly, Fincher’s last theatrical release wasGone Girl, another success that proves his work, even if it’s a relationship-based thriller, deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible.
David Fincher’s Netflix Films Lack the Impact of His Theatrical Releases
The big issue with Fincher’s work with Netflix is that, no matter how big the platform has become, they still haven’t figured out how to make their releases have the lasting impact of a theatrically released film.Mank, a biopic aboutCitizen Kanescreenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, which starred Gary Oldman, was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Director. Still,it arguably won’t be remembered in the same breath as some of his previous efforts because of its Netflix origins. That’s not to say there isn’t a circle of cinephiles that talk about it, but not nearly as much as his other Academy Award achievements, such asThe Social NetworkorThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Both films were released theatrically, and both were highly successful, primarily because of Fincher’s name alone.
The news felt even more depressing for his 2023 film,The Killer, the action thriller starring Michael Fassbenderand written bySe7enscreenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker. The movie debuted in Netflix’s Top 10, which gave them short-term bragging rights, but it felt as quickly as it arrived; the movie disappeared.Despite an 85% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the film being well-received by those who have seen it, the movie lacked longevity, arguably due to its exclusive Netflix release. Even though the streamer makes constant declarations about its strength in the film market, it still hasn’t figured out the blueprint for making its movies stay on the minds of its viewers, even when they happen to be good and directed by one of our greatest filmmakers.
Fincher’s visual prowess is also missing on the big screen.The Killerno doubt looks great and gives you a hint of what has made past films true visual feasts, but they just don’t land in the same way anymore, no matter how impressive your TV at home might be. To say his visual palette is missing on the big screen would be a vast understatement. This is someone who made the creation of Facebook visually stunning and the grotesque serial killer endeavors of John Doe inSe7ensomething beautiful. That’s not to say that releasing his films on Netflix has dulled his talents. It has just given them strict limitations that don’t allow them to truly flourish.
David Fincher’s Future Seems Permanently Linked to Netflix
Fincher doesn’t seem to have plans to stop working with the streamer.He’s currently directingThe Adventures of Cliff Booth, a film serving as a sequel-of-sorts to Quentin Tarantino’sOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood, and an American adaptation of the popular Netflix seriesSquid Game. The first of these projects should be exciting to movie fans sinceBrad Pitt is returningto a role that won him his first Academy Award, and Tarantino himself wrote it.
However, the news of this film slowly waned when Netflix announced it would be an exclusive film. Keep in mind thatOnce Upon a Time in Hollywoodgrossed over $392 million worldwide at the box office and garnered 10 Oscar nominations while remaining a Tarantino favorite among his fans. Will Fincher’s Cliff Booth sequel have the same cultural impact? Likely not. As forSquid Game, it’s a truly random endeavor that comes off more as a head-scratcher rather than the next level of Fincher’s creative evolution.
Fincher’s reasons for working with Netflix make sense from a creative standpoint, at least from the perspective of a filmmaker who would like as much control as possible. Other filmmakers have expressed that Netflix allows for more freedom than the major studios, something that Fincherhas commented on himselfby saying, “Let’s be honest. I have worked for most of the major film studios. When you tell them, ‘I have to do these special effects in 4K,’ their first response is, ‘Oh, gee, why do it so expensive?’ They balk at the slightest expense.” The director continued by saying, “Netflix has never quibbled with this type of choice. They adopted an industry standard that made sense to filmmakers. Netflix has by far the best “quality control.”
As a director, Fincher feels strongly about these sentiments, and he no doubt should, but that doesn’t make it any less disheartening to see one of the industry’s strongest filmmaking voices relegated to Netflix. Perhaps we can look back on his past filmography and remember the good old days, but one can only hope that he will have films that will grace the big screen again for the masses, because we certainly miss having them as they should be seen.
