American Fiction

Summary

“You know it’s so brave, actually.”

Race is one of the most difficult issues to write about in an engaging and surprising way. It feels like in this day and age there is a barrage of content that aims to talk seriously about race, but so little of the films that are made on the topic remember that a film is also meant to entertain. American Fiction is based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett. Directed by Cord Jefferson, who also adapted the screenplay, the film is one of the best pictures about racial identity that I have seen in a long time. Jeffrey Wright received an Academy Award nomination for his exceptional performance as the lead character. American Fiction won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, but the film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Original Score. I watched American Fiction months back before it had received a Blu-ray release, and I was so impressed with it that I read the novel on which the film was based. This is one of the rare occasions where I felt the film bested the novel in a number of ways. Warner Bros. has deservedly given American Fiction a Blu-ray release.

(Editorial Note: This review does include a spoiler of an unexpected event that happens early in the film. That event is necessary to discuss in order to discuss the rest of the plot, so if you would rather be surprised, skip the next paragraph.)

Thelonius “Monk” Ellison is a creative writing professor in Los Angeles. His novels tackle a broad range of literary topics, but he has unceremoniously been branded as a writer of “African American” literature due to his skin color. His latest novel has been rejected by publishers for not being black enough. His novels have garnered good reviews, but bad sales. When Thelonious runs into issues over his tough behavior regarding sensitivity towards race issues with his naive college students, he is asked to take a leave of absence and return home to Boston. While there he can also attend a literary seminar. Returning to his home, Monk’s panel at the seminar is poorly attended. Meanwhile, there is a crowd for the panel held by Sintara Golden, whose novel We’s Lives in Da Ghetto has been widely embraced by the public. Monk is disgusted by the obvious stereotypes the book perpetrates, and jealous of the success. Monk catches up with his sister Lisa (Tracee Ellis Ross) and his mother Agnes (Leslie Uggams) whom is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Lisa is a doctor who has recently been hurt financially from a divorce, and she has been left in Boston to care for their mother while Monk has lived in Los Angeles and their brother Clifford lives elsewhere. Lisa and Monk go out for drinks and have good conversations regarding each other’s lives and care for their mother, but Lisa suffers a sudden heart attack. She is unable to be revived by the doctors. Monk and Agnes, along with her caretaker Lorraine (Myra Lucretia Taylor,) host Lisa’s funeral at the beach house that Agnes had owned with her deceased husband. Attending the funeral as well is Clifford (Sterling K. Brown,) who has recently been divorced and estranged from his children when he was caught by his wife having sex with another man. While visiting the beach house, Monk begins a relationship with their next door neighbor Coraline (Erika Alexander.) While rebuilding his relationship with his ailing mother and brother (who is now using hard drugs recreationally,) Monk decides to lean into the worst stereotypes possible and write a novel called My Pafology under the pseudonym of Stagg Lee. He turns it into his agent Arthur (John Ortiz,) who thinks it is some kind of joke, but Monk persists that he should send the manuscript out to publishers. To their shock, the book begins a bidding war amongst publishers when it is taken at face value. This leads to a number of comedic exercises as Monk must become Stagg, whom they have explained is a fugitive from justice.

First and foremost, American Fiction is extremely funny. Filmmaker Cord Jefferson had worked as a writer on shows such as The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore and Master of None, which had honed his skills. His ability to treat hot button issues with a slant and good satirical eye without coming off as preachy is admirable. What is striking about the film is that American Fiction is a picture about race in the same way that Philip Roth’s novel The Human Stain is about race. The main character of the film is struggling to come to grips with the idea that his skin color is pigeonholing his literary works as African American Literature when his ideas are universal and have nothing to do with race. A comedic highlight in the film occurs when Monk asks how a book about Aeschylus relates to the African American experience. The film (and the novel) understand that race defines the experience that we will have in life, the same way that an athletic aptitude or literary acumen will, but that it is not the defining aspect of our life. The main character feels like a man without a home because he is neither “black” enough nor “white” enough to be fully accepted on the terms in which he would want to be. Where the film becomes hilarious and a pointed satire is once Monk writes a trash novel embracing the very worst stereotypes perpetrated about the black experience and his novel is immediately accepted at face value by the predominantly white apologists that can not seemingly read enough gritty tales of urban life. This frustration that Monk feels as My Pafology is taken seriously as a work of literature despite being cliched garbage leads to some of the funniest moments of the film and allows the ideas about racial identity to be explored in clever ways. I had a number of moments where I laughed out loud, but the film also tells an emotionally deep story about family and the difficulties that come for all of us as we age. American Fiction talks about a lot of important and meaningful issues with grace while remaining extremely entertaining and funny. 

The novel on which American Fiction is based by Percival Everett is good and well worth reading, but the changes made in the screenplay are all for the better. The film has a lighter touch than the novel and retools a few relationships in the book for some well conceived moments. The relationship between the housekeeper and Monk in the novel is much colder than in the film, and I liked how Cord reshaped that relationship to deliver more meaningful moments. Clifford is also expanded upon in the film. The character is given better depth and more comedic moments than in the novel. The romance between Coraline and Monk is also better fleshed out. If Cord Jefferson continues to write like this, he should be a major force in the future. It is a pretty good track record to win an Oscar on your very first film attempt.

The performances in the film are all very good. Jeffrey Wright has never been better than as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison. It feels like the character was written specifically for someone with his stature and cadence. Wright has always been a phenomenal actor, and here he nails every comedic and dramatic facet of Monk. Like a chameleon he slides into the role of Monk, and it never feels as if we are watching him act.  John Ortiz is very funny as Monk’s literary agent. Adam Brody is pitch perfect in his role as a film producer. Issa Rae drew big laughs from me in the small role of Sintara Golden. Tracee Ellis Ross is similarly very good in her role as Lisa in the film. Leslie Uggams is convincing as the mother whose capacity to take care of herself is diminishing. Erika Alexander is solidly cast as Coraline. Sterling K. Brown essentially steals the film whenever he shows up onscreen. His comedic timing as the recently sexually liberated Clifford is pure magic. Keith David also shows up to enact some scenes from Monk’s novel, and he is great. Aside from the wonderful performances, the film also benefits from an exceptional jazz-tinged score by Laura Karpman that hits all the right notes. Cord Jefferson could not have done much better in his directorial debut, which sets the stage for a major new voice in film. I can’t wait to see what he does next. Highly recommended!

Video

American Fiction has been released onto Blu-ray in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. The Blu-ray presentation is in 1080p. The film was shot on Arri Alexa Mini LF cameras and Tribe7 Blackwing7 prime lenses. It was mastered in 4K for its theatrical release, which the 1080p release is downscaled from. The good news is that the digital transfer sits on a 50GB disc, and, without any special features, it is given plenty of space. I thought the film looked pretty great. Cinematographer Christina Dunlap brings the very best out of the city and coastal environments in the film. Everything seems to be approached with a soft touch, and the light approach works very well for the film. Compression issues are few and far between, and the film could only really look better if it was presented on 4K UHD (which would be a welcome upgrade.) 

Audio

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track sounds great. The film is centered on dialogue, but the surrounds are used effectively to bring the very best out of the truly amazing score by Laura Karpman. Karpman’s score was so good that I assumed the soundtrack was largely made of jazz standards. I was wrong. The music is largely her own and it is wonderful. Clarity is excellent. I have no complaints.

Supplements:

• None

Overall Scores:

Video: 4.75/5

Audio: 4.75/5

Supplements: 0/5

Overall – 4.5/5

American Fiction was one of my favorite films of 2023. Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, is a brilliantly funny examination of racial identity and family issues. The film is as funny as it is clever, and the performances by the central cast are all wonderful. Jeffrey Wright has never been better, and Sterling K. Brown reveals he has pitch-perfect comedic timing in his scene-stealing performance. This is a major debut film from Cord Jefferson and announces what will hopefully be another strong narrative voice in film in the future. Warner Bros. has given American Fiction a solid Blu-ray presentation which looks and sounds great, but is sadly without a single supplemental feature (not even a trailer.) Maybe at some point the film will be given a 4K release, but for now this is a great way to own the film.