American Fiction is a blisteringly humorous and observant debut
Cord Jefferson has been a writer on a few of the most celebrated television shows of the last six years, including Master of None, The Good Place, Watchmen, and Station Eleven. Transitioning to films, he makes his writing and directing debut with American Fiction. Jefferson focuses all his storytelling wit on creating a prescient satire, and as a result, American Fiction becomes not only a powerful introductory statement for the filmmaker but also one of the year’s finest cinematic works.
The film follows Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison (Jeffrey Wright), a novelist balancing an inconsistent level of success in the publishing industry with a disconnected family plagued by health and financial struggles. His frustrations deepen with the massive popularity of a new novel by a Black author, Sintara Golden (Issa Rae), which, in his opinion, spreads and profits off urban Black stereotypes. As a needling joke, and under a pseudonym, Monk writes a fictional autobiography filled with similar Black stereotypes. When (white) publishers praise its rawness and offer him, or rather, his pseudonym, a book deal, his life completely changes. American Fiction is filled with quips and situations that lambast the publishing industry, the film industry, and mainstream journalism. However, first and foremost, the film chastises the normalized (prejudiced) tastes of white audiences. The film’s observations ring embarrassingly true. You don’t have to look far (Oscar-winning films, best-selling books, etc.) to see them. In case you can’t, don’t worry: American Fiction creatively points out a few.
Only in recent years have Jeffrey Wright’s extraordinary acting chops been properly utilized. Wright is a stoic actor, tightly wound, and able to channel deep thought and intellect. He’s also able to deliver lines in a manner of slow contemplation, or rapid soliloquies, with equal ease and gravitas. Wes Anderson was the first to unlock Wright’s secret leading-man caliber, and Cord Jefferson is the latest to take it for a spin. Wright will see numerous accolades handed his way this awards season, and rightfully so. Issa Rae and the supporting cast, including Tracee Ellis Ross and Sterling K. Brown as Monk’s siblings, and Adam Brody and John Ortiz as a film producer and Monk’s literary agent, respectively, are all wonderful.
The story, as well as the performances, can be divided into two sides of the same coin: a silly satire and an observant family drama. Both sides argue the same premise —that Black society in America is composed of more than impoverished, crime-stricken sob stories to make a fortune on exposing. The Ellison family, as depicted, is made up of a variety of individuals who face the same mix of mundane and eventful challenges that everyone else faces, but their stories are rarely told. The silly side is filled with ignorant white professionals, who see dollar signs instead of the truth, and Jefferson deftly and confidently handles both the comedy and the drama. American Fiction is one of the best films of the year, with one of the best lead performances. It carries a message that seeps into the heart of our social consciousness, encouraging us to re-evaluate the stories we consume and why we choose to consume them.
—–
American Fiction opens in theaters on Friday, December 15th.
