American Fiction, directed by Cord Jefferson is his directorial debut, follows writer Thelonious Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) as he deals with the aftermath of dealing with a book that he publishes as a joke that ends up becoming popular. That’s perhaps the best way to explain the plot based on what the general internet will tell you. There is much more to it, but I will leave it vague as I didn’t know anything going into the film. The film was the latest AMC Screen Unseen film where a mystery movie plays weeks in advance. There was much speculation that this was going to be the movie playing. I still didn’t know much about the film other than seeing the movie stills and hearing awards buzz. The best way to explain American Fiction to anyone is to just let go and experience the film.

Five minutes into the film, you essentially know what kind of film you’re getting yourself into. The opening scene sees Thelonious, played by Jeffrey Wright, give a lecture on history to a group of students where one particular white female student is offended, because Wright has an offensive slur on the whiteboard. He personally doesn’t understand why she would be offended as the slur would offend him more. This leads the student to storm off hysterically crying. That essentially sets the tone of the film and sets it message in motion as someone of color struggling to understand the dynamics of what an American audience wants. Ironically, this opening scene made the guy next to me leave, which I guess worked out since I got more space to myself. However, the message that is set in motion is one that is clear enough to warrant a viewer’s attention. Thankfully, between the masterful script and powerhouse performances, the film is amongst one of the best movies of the year.

What’s even more ironic is how Jeffrey Wright has now been in two films this year where each scenes subverts expectations and takes an unorthodox approach to its structure. The other film that I am talking about is Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City. I do want to emphasize on this as it makes as a perfect example of what to expect with this film. I would not recommend going into this thinking that it is going to be an easy and understandable watch. As mentioned, go into this with the notion of completely letting go and letting the movie absorb you. It feels rare for films to do that these days.

The tone that the film delivers is thanks to the structure & script. The structure allows for one where you never know what to expect next, yet it feels natural at times. It’s not a series of random moments, but rather a series of what we see from this writer’s perspective. If Asteroid City was from the point of view of the director, American Fiction is from the point of view from the writer. The writer played by Wright reflects writer/director Cord Jefferson. As the structure gets confusing at times, we are lead to think if we can even depend on this writer. The story is solely dependent on what this writer sees. Does he want his audience to be satisfied with the typical Hollywood film that we have seen many times before or does he want to exploit the truth even if it doesn’t fit the mold? You can see where the writer wants to balance this. It not only says something about what the typical audience wants to see, but it also manages to tell its story in a really unique & original fashion.

The script has a fine balance between natural dialogue with the intent of showing the uncomfortable truth, as well as making moments genuinely funny. Without going into any spoilers, what I found to be very poignant is how Wright’s character reacts to his surroundings the moment he visits his family. It’s clear that he likes to keep a safe distance from his family even if he still loves and cares for them. It’s his sister, Lisa Ellison (Tracee Ellis Ross), who brings him out of his shell and become vulnerable to his love for his family. There is a nice ice breaker between the two where Ross tells a joke to ease themselves coming back into their lives. Just as tragedy strikes, Wright has already made himself vulnerable again, making him have to balance his family dynamics with his own personal problems. This brings me to my next point of positives: the performances.

The performances are truly amazing. Jeffrey Wright has always been great, but his ability in a leading role has always been underutilized in my opinion. This role is one of his best in what feels like years. As for Sterling K. Brown, he solidifies himself as one of the best working actors today. His commitment to the role here is completely different than what I have seen him in before. The role shows Brown’s love for acting as he does something completely different. As much as I loved his character in the film, he has little time, yet has a significant impact to the overall story. That’s probably the best way to explain the rest of the supporting cast. Nearly every other supporting character has their own importance to the story. Luckily, they all understand that they don’t have a whole lot of time in the film, yet they understand the importance of the character enough to deliver their best.

Due to the commitment brought from the talent and the amazing script, I was a bit let down with how not everything gets wrapped up. I get that the point of this film is to not do what viewers are used to. To me, I believe there was potential to do something more to give conclusions to these characters that we spend so much time with. While I understand that the point of the film is to give more realistic look at this type of story, I was still yearning for more conclusions as soon as the credits rolled. If anything, it goes to show how good the direction, script, and performances are. The script feels like it took time to build, and the direction feels like Cord Jefferson understood the script inside and out in order to help the talent deliver some amazing performances.

Overall, American Fiction balances important themes with magnificent performances from all involved. While Jeffrey Wright is at his best in this role, it shouldn’t go unnoticed that all of the supporting talent carry the film as well. The film delivers on the laughs, but never shy’s away from delivering the uncomfortable truth. Director Cord Jefferson will surely make his name a household one very soon.

VERDICT: Amazing