Fincher seems to me like a remarkably brilliant director. But I worry that this emphasis on his attention to detail contributes to a view that directing is akin to micromanagement, and that the best directors are the best micromanagers. Yes, Kubrick and Fincher and many others are perfectionists. But they are only one school. The author even acknowledges this briefly.

> Fincher has leaned toward a “very classical” visual rule book whose fundamentals predate French New Wave and vérité.

Filmmakers such as Agnes Varda or Truffaut wouldn't care about a camera bumping or a light being off. Varda made The Gleaners and I on a digital camera in the early 2000's and I'd put it up against any Fincher.

I don't mean to dismiss Fincher. But there's definitely this image of a director being this picky person yelling "cut cut" over the smallest issue.