American Fiction | Film Review

Frustrated with the way Black entertainment relies on harmful stereotypes and tropes, novelist Monk (Jeffrey Wright) writes an outlandish book to prove his point. But when the book unexpectedly becomes a best-seller, Monk has to navigate the publishing world while keeping his involvement a secret.

I didn't know much about this film and only had it on my to-watch list because it was nominated for Best Picture. But after watching the trailer, I couldn't wait to see it!

I really liked this movie!

It's a satire, so I expected it to be funny, but I didn't expect it to be that funny! It was such a pleasant watching experience for the humour alone.

The film has a lot to say about the presence of Black people in the media, and it's a good point to make. Black media can often seem like it's entirely trauma because it's rare for films about Black joy or happiness to make it to the forefront. The film lays this out in an interesting way and really makes you think about it.

The writing was great. The film won the 'Best Adapted Screenplay' BAFTA and it's completely clear why. 

But the best thing about it is definitely the characters. Not only are they really well written, but they're portrayed so well by the actors. Wright is amazing as Monk and Sterling K. Brown (Cliff Ellison) has one of the best supporting performances of awards season. He was the character I was most interested in and completely stole every scene he was in.

There were only a couple of things I didn't love about the movie - the main one being that I wished I hadn't seen the trailer! All of my favourite moments from the trailer ended up being my favourite moments in the film, and none came as a surprise. As a result, they weren't as impactful as they would have been if I didn't know they were coming.

The other thing I didn't really love was the ending. It worked with the film, but it wasn't as impactful as I wanted it to be.

Overall, this is a great film, and a very worthy Best Picture nominee. Go see it!

7.5/10