American Fiction Film Review

 American Fiction ...Film Review 

Directed by Cord Jefferson

Based on novel ERASURE by Percival Everett 

Jeffery wright in lead role 

OTT Amazon Prime

Nominated for 2024 Oscars for 

Best picture,

Best actor,

Best supporting actor,

Best adapted screenplay

Best original score .

When I was browsing for good films I chanced on American fiction .

Though in beggining I had every mind to stop I persisted ,slowly it revealed itself to be a good film .

Monk the protaganist is a middle aged doctorate in literature and professor in an university ,Divorced and a black American .

He is a writer too with books in his name though none were famous were appreciated for their complexity  ,style and vocabulary but both ratings and awards and commerical succeses kept away from him .

Monk was not one to pander to liberal Americas political conscience on blacks in a superficial way  and a snobbish acceptance of them ,thier way of life and thier writings in an accepted mode like for eg a dog to a dog lover .

He wanted his writing to rise above such barriers of colour or race and not stick to the sterotypes of blacks in his novels .

Forced to take a sabbatical on his visit to Boston to see his mother suffering from increasing dementia his sister a Gynaecologist and brother though a plastic surgeon a selfish freak  junky and a gay .

With unexpected death of his sister he realises he needs to pay the bills for his mothers costly care home as his brother just drifts apart .

Monk sees that other American black writers succumbing to the groove of white publishing worlds rules are commercial sucesses and suffer no financial strains .

He also realises the quality of those writings are way below but they get the film offers of story ,and awards .

So one day when frustrated he justs starts writing a novel like them and finishes it at one go naming it My Pafology ,he has no hopes it would see the light of day 

He pens it under a fictious name of an ex convict  as he is embarassed to write a stereotype black novel with cuss words ,accent and tone of such a person 

But his agent feels it would be a sucess .

He comes to know from him later that a very big publisher was keen to buy it at a big price ,

Monk  tries to dissuade them over phone by acting tough telling them he wants title to change as FUCK  to the shock of his agent !

Strangely the publishers agree to that too 

Soon a weird film maker loves it and buys it at an astronomical price .

As Monk needs the money he accepts all offers .

Funnily he becomes part of a jury for a book award and his own FUCK novel is nominated 

He keeps quiet and talks against his novel getting award telling its too vulgar and grotesque .

But the rest of jury selects the book for the award carrying big prize money .

Monk comes to know sucess was assured by his changing stance and pandering to percieved popular tastes and not when he stuck to ideals 

He finally walks to dias when award is announced and the organisers telling author could not be contacted

He confesses to audience that he was the author .

Though it deals with writing and publishing it touches on fact sucess does not mean qauality or righteous ness it could be the opposite