MOVIE REVIEW: AMERICAN FICTION

 

Monk is a frustrated novelist who's fed up with the establishment that profits from Black entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, he uses a pen name to write an outlandish Black book of his own, a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.

Director: Cord Jefferson

Cast:  Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, Keith David

Release Date: September 8, 2023

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Rated R for language throughout, some drug use, sexual references and brief violence.

Runtime: 1h 57m

Cord Jefferson's big screen debut, American Fiction, is a wonderfully nuanced satire led by a multifaceted performance from Jeffrey Wright.  Jefferson, who also wrote the script, shows a steady, confident hand behind the camera as he delivers a film that's easy to enjoy even as it covers some expansive racial issues and themes.  He allows his actors to shine by giving them plenty of quieter character moments that gives the film and story an impressive level of depth.  His cast is more than up for the task led by Jeffrey Wright who's never been better.  Wright is the kind of actor that's always brings a certain kind of authentic intelligence and pathos to his roles which is tailor made for playing this role.  Wright adds so much nuance and layers playing an incredibly intelligent man who's seething with resentment over his talents being overlooked.  In the hands of a lesser performer, the character could have come off more one dimensional and one note, but Wright is able to make him a complicated, living breathing human being while still deftly handling the more comedic moments.  The supporting cast is no less impressive with each leaving a noticeable impression on the film with stand out performances from Erika Alexander with an endearing turn as the love interest and Sterling K. Brown playing against type as Monk's chaotic and equally complicated brother.  There is a natural chemistry together from the cast as a whole which makes the story and film as a whole connect on another level.  The pacing that hit a slight hiccup in its final act which is I suspect is intentional in order to reflect the complexity of the racial discussions at play which has no easy or straight forward answers much like the film's conclusion.  American Fiction proves to be the kind of film that works on multiple levels either as comedy, drama or dissection of social issues thanks to the collective talent assembled.

A-