I'm not sure if this Amazon MGM Studios production of American Fiction made it on general release? But when I found that it won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay (and four other nominations), I booked to see it when it arrived at the Rex cinema in Berkhamsted. And I'm so glad that I did. First time feature director Cord Jefferson has adapted the book "Erasure" by Percival Everett and his screenplay is witty, serious, intelligent and funny. It is very much a family drama but with a lot about writing, authorship and selling books woven in.
Jeffrey Wright is superb as Thelonious "Monk" Ellison, a talented author whose books are not that popular. But when he writes a coarse "Black" book" under the pseudonym Stagg R. Leigh for a joke, his publisher sells it for a fortune, much to the disgust of Monk. But he needs the money as his mother is showing signs of Alzheimer's and needs constant care.
The screenplay is one of the best I have encountered for a long time. There is a large cast, all of whom revel in their performances. They are a disorientated family of whom Monk is one of the worst. His lack of communication with them and a new woman friend is really upsetting. You want to shake him. But there are also plenty of laughs along the way. However, the best one for me was lost on the rest of the sizeable audience. When Monk has to impersonate the fictitious fugitive Stagg in a meeting with a top producer, he makes a quick escape when he sees and hears the siren of a passing police car. There are sort of alternate endings which have to be seen to be believed. I could go on and on.
Alex Ramon in Sight and Sound Magazine March 2024 - the film remains a creditable debut.
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