‘American fiction’ criticizes clichés of black culture without great depth; g1 already seen

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Film by newcomer Cord Jefferson is up for five Oscars, including best film, actor and supporting actor. Big surprise of the awards season, “American Fiction” arrived in Brazil without going to theaters, going straight to Prime Video. The film directed by newcomer Cord Jefferson was the last one left to be available to the Brazilian public, among the ten nominated for the 2024 Oscar for Best Film. The film seeks to criticize how Americans see and absorb African-American culture. The interesting premise, although not new, never manages to delve into this controversy. Still, it’s a pleasant film, which holds your attention and has a great cast. Watch the trailer for “American Fiction” Adapted from the book “Erasure” (unpublished in Brazil) by Percival Everett, the plot is centered on Thelonius “Monk” Ellison (Jeffrey Wright, from “Batman”). He is a writer who is going through a crisis after having his most recent book rejected by publishers, despite the efforts of his agent, Arthur (John Ortiz). Furthermore, his previous publications were not sales successes because they were considered “difficult”. Frustrated after realizing that books reinforcing stereotypes of African Americans become bestsellers, especially one written by Sintara Golden (Issa Rae, from “Barbie”), “Monk” decides to use a pseudonym. So he writes a story full of the clichés he repudiates to shock the editors. To his surprise, the book is not only published but becomes a literary hit. With his unexpected success, he is forced to take on a double life that complicates his life even more. Especially in the relationships with his brother, Cliff (Sterling K Brown, from “Black Panther” and the series “This is Us”) and his girlfriend, Coraline (Erika Alexander, from “Get Out”). Sterling K Brown, Jeffrey Wright and Erika Alexander in a scene from ‘American Fiction’ Disclosure Stranger than fiction (but not so much…) “American Fiction” aims to lead the public to reflect on how African-American culture only seems to be relevant when works are created that reinforce common clichés about black people. The film does this with the protagonist’s unexpected success, after releasing his book full of grammatical errors, “impactful” sentences and a false authenticity that would come from the streets. The film reinforces the vision of black people in the United States in emblematic scenes, such as the sequence in which the protagonist watches a TV commercial about a film session about street gangs, maids, slavery and other commonplaces. Or in the sequence in which Thelonius listens to a passage narrated by the character of Issa Rae full of exaggerations of the genre. In these moments, the film gets right on the issue it wants to discuss. Issa Rae plays a successful writer in ‘American Fiction’ Disclosure The problem is that the script by director Cord Jefferson, nominated for an Oscar for Adapted Screenplay, develops its main theme in a spaced way and with little depth. The film never takes off, because it never goes to the bottom of its complaint nor takes the opportunity to highlight the surrealism that its argument presents. Because of this, it ends up losing strength as the plot progresses. The script still wastes time worrying more about “Monk’s” family issues, such as his mother’s health problems, his brother’s irresponsible behavior or the back-and-forth of his romance with Coraline. Only in the final part does the text return to discussing how American society views people of African descent. There are only a few minutes left until the end. Too late. Erika Alexander and Jeffrey Wright in a scene from ‘American Fiction’ Disclosure Saving cast If “American Fiction” doesn’t go far as a film, at least it has in its favor the great actors who make up its cast. Starting with Jeffrey Wright. The actor had a difficult task not to make “Monk” a pedantic and unpleasant person because of his erudition and his disdain for popular things. With a series of good works in cinema and TV, Wright manages to make the protagonist more human. He never makes the public criticize his behavior. For this great performance, the 58-year-old protagonist managed to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor. Sterling K. Brown also deserves praise, in a role a little different from what we are used to seeing. The actor shows his versatility by making his character Cliff a person who doesn’t want to have so much responsibility. The guy just wants to enjoy his life, like a kind of counterpart to his serious and mature brother. The good chemistry with Wright must have contributed to his Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Sterling K. Brown was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his work in ‘American Fiction’ Disclosure Among women, the highlight goes to Issa Rae. Although she appears little, she plays an essential role in the plot and shows firmness in her performance. Erika Alexander, as Coraline, is convincing and Tracee Elis Ross, as Lisa, the sister of “Monk” and Cliff, is just right. “American Fiction” can already be considered a winning film just for being one of the finalists in the main Oscar category. The film has qualities, but it is below its competitors (perhaps a little above “Maestro”) and enters as an underdog in the main dispute for the golden statuette. If it were a little more acidic or incisive with its proposal, the film could be more memorable. As it turned out, it’s one of those productions that you can watch without any problems, but without so many expectations.

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