Based on a novel, American Fiction follows the story of a writer whose writing career is stalled as his work isn’t “Black” enough. And in order to expose his publishers, he writes a ‘basic’ book under a pseudo name which gains popularity much to his dismay. Will he reveal his true identity to the world? The story here is a meta satirical comedy exposing the pseudo-intellect of people at so many levels. We live in a time where simple piece of writing sells but complex, nuanced pieces of art are often left on the outskirts of oblivion, and that is the stark reality. Stereotypes sell but a deeper meaning to those stereotypes have no takers at all. And the story here exposes that reality in a hilariously penned drama standing at a runtime of under 2 hours. It is compelling and sharp with a brand of comedy that is difficult to achieve.

The drama opens with the introduction of the protagonist(not being racist here but he is ‘black’) addressing a classroom with the subject of literature which is being discussed. Suddenly, a student takes an objection to the word ‘Nigga’ written on the board post which she is asked to leave, but not before having a healthy discussion with her teacher who doesn’t believe in stereotypes. This little scene does give immense insight into the psyche of the protagonist, a writer by profession who is struggling to sell copies of his ‘complex and nuanced’ novel while a simpler, palatable and stereotypical novel of a fellow ‘black’ writer is celebrated. The opening 20 minutes has to be one of the favourites from the recent bunch of films that I have watched even though he drama detours towards the personal life of the protagonist featuring his mother suffering from dementia, his soon to be randomly dead sister, his estranged gay brother(with whom he has a real meaningful conversation in the final act about his perceptions of his sexuality) and his soon to be neighbour turned girlfriend. And while he does lead a simple life, his life changes after his new stereotypical book written under a pseudo name gains immense popularity.

The drama is a satire on how a single man trying hard to change the society cannot go far wihout blending his thoughts with what the society wishes to hear from him. The proceedings are engaging and almost two-fold in nature. One aspect is of his personal life which is more rooted to reality and much like that of a regular person living his life with his fair share of problems to deal with. This is much contrary to the life which White Americans usually think of the Black, often resorting to crime and being ‘fugitives’. And that was the zone of the other half of the screenplay that is a part of the stereotypical novel written by the protagonist. And his battle does lie in switching from the first aspect of writing to the more palatable one.

The drama is filled with meta humour on Hollywood and its way of working. We have been witness to plenty of novels being adapted for the screen(ironically of the film whose reviewing I am writing as well). Yet, a character says that Hollywood doesn’t have the time to read the whole novel, they just transcribe the whole thing which was kind of hilarious as much as tragic. And it is this frivolous kind of mindset that is a part of the larger society that refuses to apply themselves while focusing on areas that require no real analysis, something that is expertly highlighted in the screenplay. The events leading to the final act are interesting wherein the lines of real and reel blur in a rather funny manner in what was a hilariously tragic final act that represented the collective intellect of the society. Overall, the screenplay is extremely well written and makes for an enjoyably poignant watch.