After the opening sequence you know exactly what movie this will be, something very original and funny. The writing is excellent from the comedic written scenes to the dramatic ones. Other than the writing and story, the direction and acting are two other highlights with Jeffrey Wright pulling one of his best performances as Dr. Thelonious "Monk" Ellison. It was named one of the top 10 films of 2023 by the American Film Institute, and received five nominations at the 96th Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Jeffrey Wright, winning for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Cord Jefferson's hilarious directorial debut confronts our culture's obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes. Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from "Black" entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk uses a pen name to write his own outlandish "Black" book--that propels him into the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.
Going into American Fiction almost entirely blind made it such an amazing experience, with the story taking unexpected routes. It didn't take long for me to get invested into the story and characters, the characterizations were absolutely fantastic and as I wrote before, the acting is absolutely perfect. Something which I loved and found funny and original, was the scene when Monk is writing and we see the scene he's writing play out for us, that's some great visual storytelling which keeps it funny and interesting when normally they would have a montage or something like that of the sentences and writing. Well executed, Jefferson. Around 30 minutes into the film and especially half way through, the film becomes extremely funny with excellent comedic timing and witty dialogue. The ending was like the rest of the film, original and unexpected, but spectacular nonetheless. There's also a bunch of stunning looking shots, thanks to the magnificent cinematography done by Cristina Dunlap and direction by Cord Jefferson. Jeffrey Wright is joined by Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody and Keith David. Having seen Sterling K. Brown in This is Us among other films I can gladly say he's still on the roll after This is Us, giving a performance worthy of best supporting actor.
What do a couple of critics say about this brilliant drama-comedy, about American Fiction; Peyton Robinson writing for RogerEbert.com highlighted Jefferson's writing as the key takeaway from this film, stating that his "attentive lens" to the film's "concept and themes is what will be remembered". Robinson goes on to identify the distinguishable legacy within the script, emphasizing Jefferson's "sharply pointed finger at the many institutional factors that keep (Black art), and its creators, restrained." Whilst Sarah Lyall of The New York Times covered Jeffrey Wright in a feature about his career and his role in American Fiction, claiming that Wright's "exquisitely calibrated" performance demonstrates "(Wright's ability) to elevate any movie or TV show simply by appearing in it." Lyall goes on to celebrate that Wright "has a way of burrowing so deeply into his characters that he seems almost to be hiding in plain sight.
American Fiction has Jeffrey Wright in one of his best performances, such a complex and well written character with a director who truly knows what he's doing. The screenplay might be one of the best in this decade, truly worthy of its win. For its genre, this is a masterpiece, and it's also cinema.
Cord Jefferson's hilarious directorial debut confronts our culture's obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes. Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from "Black" entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk uses a pen name to write his own outlandish "Black" book--that propels him into the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.
Going into American Fiction almost entirely blind made it such an amazing experience, with the story taking unexpected routes. It didn't take long for me to get invested into the story and characters, the characterizations were absolutely fantastic and as I wrote before, the acting is absolutely perfect. Something which I loved and found funny and original, was the scene when Monk is writing and we see the scene he's writing play out for us, that's some great visual storytelling which keeps it funny and interesting when normally they would have a montage or something like that of the sentences and writing. Well executed, Jefferson. Around 30 minutes into the film and especially half way through, the film becomes extremely funny with excellent comedic timing and witty dialogue. The ending was like the rest of the film, original and unexpected, but spectacular nonetheless. There's also a bunch of stunning looking shots, thanks to the magnificent cinematography done by Cristina Dunlap and direction by Cord Jefferson. Jeffrey Wright is joined by Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody and Keith David. Having seen Sterling K. Brown in This is Us among other films I can gladly say he's still on the roll after This is Us, giving a performance worthy of best supporting actor.
What do a couple of critics say about this brilliant drama-comedy, about American Fiction; Peyton Robinson writing for RogerEbert.com highlighted Jefferson's writing as the key takeaway from this film, stating that his "attentive lens" to the film's "concept and themes is what will be remembered". Robinson goes on to identify the distinguishable legacy within the script, emphasizing Jefferson's "sharply pointed finger at the many institutional factors that keep (Black art), and its creators, restrained." Whilst Sarah Lyall of The New York Times covered Jeffrey Wright in a feature about his career and his role in American Fiction, claiming that Wright's "exquisitely calibrated" performance demonstrates "(Wright's ability) to elevate any movie or TV show simply by appearing in it." Lyall goes on to celebrate that Wright "has a way of burrowing so deeply into his characters that he seems almost to be hiding in plain sight.
American Fiction has Jeffrey Wright in one of his best performances, such a complex and well written character with a director who truly knows what he's doing. The screenplay might be one of the best in this decade, truly worthy of its win. For its genre, this is a masterpiece, and it's also cinema.