American Fiction review: "Jeffrey Wright shines in the fiendishly smart comedy-drama"
Jan. 29, 2024Jeffrey Wright hits a career high in a film that’s terrifically funny, beautifully written, thoughtful, and provocative.
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TV writer Cord Jefferson (HBO’s Watchmen) makes an auspicious filmmaking debut with this wincingly acute comedy-drama. Jeffrey Wright, in a rare but highly satisfying lead role, plays Thelonius ‘Monk’ Ellison, an embittered literature academic whose lofty new book (a reworking of Aeschylus’ The Persians) has left publishers cold. Instead, he has to stand by and watch fellow Black novelist Sintara Golden (Issa Rae) scoop up the plaudits for her debut novel, We’s Lives in Da Ghetto.
“Books like this are not real, they flatten our lives,” he bemoans, believing that novels focused on Black poverty and crime do nobody any favors - especially when an author like Golden is middle class. In a fit of pique, Monk writes a stereotype-laden rejoinder in the form of My Pafology, under the assumed name of Stagg R. Leigh (who can’t go public as he’s wanted by the police). With encouragement from his agent (John Ortiz), Monk’s book is soon picked up by a major publisher, with white executives desperate to cash in on its gritty milieu.
That said, some elements feel a little out of place. For one, the frequent cutaways to Thelonious’ hard-partying brother Cliff (Sterling K. Brown) can get a little tiresome. Then there’s the moment where My Pafology comes to life on-screen, with ‘thug-life’ characters (played by Keith David and Okieriete Onaodowan) appearing in front of the author - a scene that, ironically, must’ve looked better on paper.
Luckily, such missteps are few and far between. For the most part, this is tightly written, smartly performed, and frequently hilarious – notably in the scenes where Monk meets with Adam Brody’s ‘visionary’ Hollywood director, who is looking to craft an exploitation flick based on his book. And despite the slightly uneven pacing, Wright’s sturdy performance keeps things on an even keel. The result is a fiendishly sharp poke at questionable notions of Black representation in the modern world.
American Fiction is in US theaters now and in UK cinemas from February 2.
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James Mottram is a freelance film journalist, author of books that dive deep into films like Die Hard and Tenet, and a regular guest on the Total Film podcast. You’ll find his writings on GamesRadar+ and Total Film, and in newspapers and magazines from across the world like The Times, The Independent, The i, Metro, The National, Marie Claire, and MindFood.
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