It's mostly a drama with sharp satire embedded within. Thelonious "Monk" Ellison is an African American creative writing professor at a college in Los Angeles. He's known for writing good-quality literary fiction that has not sold well. He plans to attend a book convention in Boston, where his mother, Agnes (Leslie Uggams), and sister, Lisa (Tracee Ellis Ross), live. Lisa is a physician and lives with Agnes, who is suffering from dementia. His brother, Cliff (Sterling K. Brown), is a plastic surgeon in Tuscon, Arizona. His wife divorced Cliff when she caught him in a male relationship.
Monk's college puts him on leave because of some controversial interactions with students, so he's destined to spend more time in the Boston area than he intended. He meets another African American novelist at the convention. Sintara Golden (Issa Rae) also has a very polished educational background and works as a reader for a major publisher. She's written a novel that utilizes African American stereotypes that Monk detests. He decides to write a trashy satire of such books and orders his agent, Arthur (John Ortiz), to submit it to publishers. A major Anglo-Saxon-run house loves because of its stereotypes, and Arthur convinces Monk to play along. He does, but with conflicted feelings that create difficulties in his relationships, including with a new girlfriend, Coraline (Erika Alexander).
"American Fiction" follows the trajectory of Monk's novel as it enters high-level literary discourse. The story provides three alternate endings. I liked the first one.
I found "American Fiction" to be a brilliant film. On one level, it unfolds the drama in a high-achieving family from the perspective of Monk, an inhibited, closed-in personality who has trouble exposing himself to others. On a second level is the razor-sharp satire of White preoccupation with African American stereotypes. The story moves along briskly. All the members of the Ellison family have distinct, well-developed personalities. The script and direction are first-class. I liked this film much more than the Roger Ebert reviewer.
Monk's college puts him on leave because of some controversial interactions with students, so he's destined to spend more time in the Boston area than he intended. He meets another African American novelist at the convention. Sintara Golden (Issa Rae) also has a very polished educational background and works as a reader for a major publisher. She's written a novel that utilizes African American stereotypes that Monk detests. He decides to write a trashy satire of such books and orders his agent, Arthur (John Ortiz), to submit it to publishers. A major Anglo-Saxon-run house loves because of its stereotypes, and Arthur convinces Monk to play along. He does, but with conflicted feelings that create difficulties in his relationships, including with a new girlfriend, Coraline (Erika Alexander).
"American Fiction" follows the trajectory of Monk's novel as it enters high-level literary discourse. The story provides three alternate endings. I liked the first one.
I found "American Fiction" to be a brilliant film. On one level, it unfolds the drama in a high-achieving family from the perspective of Monk, an inhibited, closed-in personality who has trouble exposing himself to others. On a second level is the razor-sharp satire of White preoccupation with African American stereotypes. The story moves along briskly. All the members of the Ellison family have distinct, well-developed personalities. The script and direction are first-class. I liked this film much more than the Roger Ebert reviewer.