Review: American Fiction

Image courtesy of Orion Pictures.

Cord Jefferson's "American Fiction" is a particularly biting satire about how the predominantly white publishing industry and its readership are limited in their interest in the types of stories told by Black authors. 

It's humor lies in satirizing white people of so-called noble intention who proclaim they want to hear Black voices, but are only interested in listening to stories - primarily Black trauma narratives - that help assuage their guilt. There is a genre, perhaps, waiting to be defined that might include this film along with "Get Out" and "Sorry to Bother You."

There's a particularly telling moment late in the film. It's the type of scene that might make you laugh aloud, but also lands as a punch in the gut. Thelonious "Monk" Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) has agreed to participate as a judge for a literary awards committee that also includes only one other person of color - Sintara Golden (Issa Rae), an author whose recent success he has mimicked. 

Ellison's work is praised by his pal and publisher, Arthur (John Ortiz), as intelligent and well-crafted, but his books just don't sell. He attends a conference where he hears Golden read an excerpt from her novel, "We's Lives in Da Ghetto," which depicts what he believes to be over-the-top stereotyped caricatures. And yet, the predominantly white audience listening to the reading gives her a standing ovation.

Out of anger - and partly as a prank - Monk writes a satirical novel depicting the foibles of a Black criminal on the run who confronts his deadbeat father and dies at the hands of the police. The novel is meant to satirize what the white establishment believes Black writers should write about - and then is shocked when publishers and movie executives nearly beat down his door to publish the novel. On top of this, Monk has written under a pseudonym, Stagg R. Leigh, and is pretending to be a convict on the lam who just happens to have written an autobiographical novel.

Back to the literary awards committee. It just so happens that Monk's faux novel - originally titled "My Pafology," but later changed to "Fuck" - is one of the novels being considered for the award. Both Monk and Golden say that the novel should not be considered for a prize - Golden calls it "pandering" and Monk finds an opportunity later to question her intentions regarding her own novel. However, the rest of the white board members on the committee want to award it the top prize. "We should be listening to Black voices right now," the white people tell the two Black committee members, overriding their opinion.

There's a whole lot more going on in "American Fiction," including Monk's dealing with the sudden death of his sister, the slow creep of Alzheimer's in his mother, the upcoming wedding of a long-time caretaker whom the family loves, secrets regarding his father, a romance with a spunky neighbor (Erika Alexander), and a difficult relationship with his brother, Clifford (an excellent Sterling K. Brown), a plastic surgeon who is recently divorced, newly gay, and a hot mess.

"American Fiction" succeeds in most departments - as an often hilarious social satire about the constraints put on Black artists, a legitimately engaging and occasionally moving saga of a family's difficulties, and a great showcase for the under-appreciated Wright, who gives one of his best - and one of his highest-profile - performances to date. Its finale veers toward the fantastical, but it also feels right when measured against the film's thesis. For a feature film debut, this is impressive work.