STAR RATING: ***** Brilliant **** Very Good *** Okay ** Poor * Awful

Thelonius Monk (Jeffrey Wright) is a frustrated novelist, with a tricky family life, who is tired of offensive and outdated tropes and stereotypes involving black culture, claiming to come from an authentic, lived experience, which end up generating profit for the publishing industry. After the tragic death of his sister, Lisa (Tracee Ellis Ross), who he looked up to, Thelonius turns the situation to his advantage, and uses a pen name to write his own novel that conforms to all the stereotypes he claims to despise, in order to expose the hypocrisy at the heart of the business.

American Fiction, the directorial debut of Cord Jefferson, who also serves as one of the writers, initially appeared as an off the radar, independent offering, with some encouraging reviews, but of little other notable worth. Next thing I know, it's among the contenders for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. It's certainly an interesting, original piece, exploring identity politics, without pushing any kind of white privilege narrative, indeed with a central protagonist raging against a stereotypical depiction of 'the black experience.'

Wright has to carry the film, much like every other leading actor, and thankfully he is certainly one of the films many good points, delivering a restrained, warm performance, and creating a likeable central character, managing the many obstacles in his life being hurdled at him, and deciding to stamp his mark in his own creative and effective way. Each of his encounters feels very relatable and human, and so keeps you engaged, right up until the ending, which delivers a clever, subversive twist that completely warps your expectations.

Adapted from an original novel by Percival Everett, Jefferson's film is a pleasantly surprising piece of work. It didn't win the Best Picture award, as we know, but the end product leaves you in little surprise at its considered worthiness. ****