‘Potential is what people see when what’s in front of them isn’t good enough...’
The great thing about Oscar season is that it forces me to watch films that I wouldn’t normally bother with. Now, I like Jeffrey Wright, and I like the premise of American Fiction, and I probably would have gotten around to it at some point, but I wouldn’t have gone out of my way to see it as I did after the Best Picture nominations were announced. In the end, I was met with a film that absolutely shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath as Oppenheimer or The Holdovers, but a fine film nevertheless…
Disillusioned by his lack of literary success, writer Monk Ellison (Wright) knocks out a parody of what he thinks readers want from a black author. Faux authenticity and tales from the ‘hood’. In true Springtime for Hitler style, the book inevitably becomes a huge success. Despite ethical misgivings, Monk has his mother’s hospital bills to pay for (a quietly courageous performance from Leslie Uggams) and so he agrees to publish his grotesque creation.
Very rarely will you hear me say this about any film but I actually felt as if American Fiction could have been longer. It’s a delicious premise and Cord Jefferson’s film kinda winds down just as it’s becoming interesting. The supporting cast are great – John Ortiz as a beleaguered literary agent, Adam Brody as a douchey film director, Sterling K. Brown as Monk’s troubled brother Clifford – and the script is funny in a clever way rather than a laugh-out-loud way, but Wright is so compelling that I would have happily spent another half an hour or so in this world.
American Fiction isn’t the best movie of 2024, but it does deserve to be seen by a wider audience and its Best Picture nomination has ensured that that will now happen. I don’t always agree with the Academy. In fact, most of the time, I find their decisions baffling, but for films like American Fiction, it seems as if the Oscars are still a net win for cinema.