American Fiction - Review

Rating: 4 out of 5

CORD Jefferson’s American Fiction succeeds on so many levels that it’s difficult to know where to start the praise.

A smart takedown of the entertainment industry and its obsessions with black trauma and genre box ticking, the film also takes aim at race and class, while simultaneously serving as an affecting family drama.

In doing so, it also embraces the complexity, ambiguity and hypocrisy of life.

Jeffrey Wright deservedly won awards recognition for his central role as a frustrated author whose decision to write a cliche ridden black novel as a joke on the industry he has come to loathe, backfires spectacularly and rewards him with the type of success he has only hitherto dreamt of.

He wears his despair and disdain brilliantly, endlessly trying to scupper his own success, only to make things worse - while also being painfully aware that he must also embrace his success in order to pay for his elderly mum’s care.

Hence, Jefferson’s movie succeeds as both bitingly funny satire and involving human drama, cleverly achieving what its central character cannot.

He also asks challenging questions of his audience, confronting stereotypes and pre-conceived notions (as floated by Wright’s protagonist), while also pointing the finger at Wright himself for some of his more pretentious ideology.

Crucially, the film doesn’t cop out. It poses questions or doesn’t always answer, allowing its issues to float and opening up a debate that is guaranteed to extend beyond the final credits.

American Fiction is smart, involving cinema that succeeds as both satire and drama. It is a tour de force for everyone involved - and a treat for viewers who like to be challenged as well as entertained.