American Fiction

2023, 1h 57min, Comedy, Drama

Directors: Cord Jefferson

Stars: Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz

Acerbic satirical drama about Thelonious Monk Ellison, a weary professor and novelist whose serious books never sell. Tired of publishers and studios chasing shallow, stereotype-filled Black stories, he dashes off a crude parody under a fake name to prove a point. When the industry embraces his joke as groundbreaking art, Monk is pulled into a world of awards, meetings, and moral compromises, all while juggling messy family obligations. The tone mixes sharp humor with warm, uneasy emotion as he questions who gets to define authentic Black life.