Winning an Oscar for Best Screenplay is almost as good as winning one for Best Director. It keeps the film alive and points out what really drives a great movie.
This year, two stellar examples (“Anatomy of a Fall” and “American Fiction”) demonstrated the point. “Oppenheimer” may have won Best Picture and Best Director but it ceded the writing prize to “American Fiction.”
Written by Cord Jefferson, the comedy was a great look at society and the shifts that people face. Theolonious “Monk” Ellison is a respected scholar and lecturer but what does he do when his novels tank and his teaching career is at a standstill? At a book fair, he notices who draws the crowd: a street-heavy story called “We’s Lives in Da Ghetto.”
The author is someone with a prestigious background, not a tough life in the inner city. Does he sell out and follow her lead? Or does he rail against stereotypes and plot a different course? That’s the fun of “American Fiction.”
People are also reading…
It’s obvious what sells but Jefferson, who also directed, makes the journey so compelling you won’t be able to guess how Ellison wraps it up.
With Jeffrey Wright as the torn writer, “Fiction” is even more intriguing. He can play both offended and offensive with equal ease and isn’t above sinking low for a shot at success. Life gets sticky, however, when eager readers want to know more about his alias, Stagg R. Leigh, and that tough upbringing.
In contrast, we see Ellison’s family – successful siblings and a mother dealing with dementia. When Leigh’s book is short-listed for an award, life becomes complicated and a crisis of conscience for its author.
Jefferson, adapting Percival Everett’s novel, “Erasure,” doesn’t cut anyone breaks. Sinatra Golden (Issa Rae), the woman behind “Da Ghetto,” has answers to his pointed questions and isn’t about to say she wrote it for financial reasons. Instead, she says she based it on interviews and is giving voice to another segment of society.
Ellison doesn’t have the same out. He wants the money; he doesn’t want the backlash that comes from writing Black stereotypes. So, he plays the game, agreeing to phone interviews and concocting a colorful past for Leigh – one that could easily be checked.
To complicate matters, there’s a hot director (nicely played by Adam Brody) who’s interested in turning the book into a film.
At home, mom (Leslie Uggams) isn’t getting any better and Monk’s siblings (Tracee Ellis Ross and Sterling K. Brown) are pushing him to take a stand.
Wright is so good at countering all the forces you wonder when his meltdown will occur. Reminiscent of other imposter stories, “American Fiction” manages to take on both the literary world’s fascination with newly discovered talent and the desire by established writers to remain relevant. Jefferson forces his leading character’s hand and gets a Wright we haven’t seen before.
Gem-like performances from Rae, Ross and Brown add to the film’s luster. “American Fiction” has “VEEP”-like tendencies and a resolution that says there’s a price to pay for messing with the faux status quo.
Movies in a minute with film critic Bruce Miller
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Movies in a Minute "Bob Marley: One Love"
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Movies in a Minute: "Poor Things"
Movies in a Minute: Best Actress nominee Sandra Huller
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Movies in a Minute: "The Color Purple"
Movies in a Minute: "The Iron Claw"
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Movies in a Minute: “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”
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Movies in a Minute: “Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny”
Movies in a Minute: “No Hard Feelings”
Movies in a Minute: "Elemental"
Movies in a Minute: “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”
Movies in a Minute: “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
Movies in a Minute: "The Little Mermaid"
Movies in a Minute: “Fast X”
Movies in a Minute: "Book Club: The Next Chapter"
Movies in a Minute: “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3”
Movies in a Minute: "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret."
Movies in a Minute: "The Covenant"
Movies in a Minute: "Renfield"
Movies in a Minute: "Air"
Movies in a Minute: "Dungeons and Dragons"
Movies in a Minute: "John Wick Chapter 4"
Movies in a Minute: “Champions”
Movies in a Minute: “Creed III”
Movies in a Minute: “80 for Brady”
Movies in a Minute: "Challengers"
Movies in a Minute: "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes"
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Movies in a Minute "Bad Boys: Ride or Die"
Bruce Miller is editor of the Sioux City Journal.
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