American Fiction (2023) Review

Thelonious Ellison also known as Monk, is a novelist and professor who is sick of the establishment profiting from “black” entertainment and decides to write a book under a pen name that will put him into the madness that he does not feel is appropriate.

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Monk is working as a professor in LA and his novel did receive academic praise but did not sell very well and publishers reject his latest manuscript for not being “black enough” to pair with his frustrations on that his University places him on temporary leave for his views on racial issues with his students. He then heads back to his hometown of Boston to spend some time with his family while also attending a literaty seminar.

Spending time with his mother Agnes who is showing signs of the start of Alzhemier’s disease, but they manage to bond a little bit. He has a decent relationship with his sister Lisa a doctor, but tragedy strikes! His estranged brother Cliff is about to come back into his life, he is also a doctor but following a divorce he is not relying on drink and drugs to see him through.

Monk becomes very frustrated with the way in which society is taking black entertainment and reducing people to rather ridiculous stereotypes that he just cannot take anymore, writing the new book under the pen name was to highlight how bad those stereotypes were and how wrong people could be. This was after seeing Sintara Golden who’s novel panders to black stereotypes but is more popular than his previous work, and everything is about to change.

Everything about the book highlights how over the top you can go and that will sell, Stagg R. Leigh the name used on the book develops a persona and claims to be a wanted fugitive. Using bad dialogue, gang violence and drugs seems to be the way to cash in, considering Monk had only submitted the manuscript out of spite.

I loved the style of the film and especially when we get towards the ending and seeing how the story was being told, along with other ideas to go along with it all. That certainly created a very clever and impressive narrative. The message from the film is clear to show that celebrating something for supposedly being woke is not always the right way to go about it.

Jeffrey Wright is utterly fantastic in the film and just a joy to watch as Monk, I mean he is in everything else he is in as well but this is certainly that next level for him in the leading role. He is engaging from start to finish and works so effortlessly with the rest of the cast. Sterling K. Brown steps in with many scene stealing moments which makes it very easy and clear to see why his performance is being talked about so much around awards season. Bouncing so well off Wright with the strained sibling relationship.