And we have Best Picture nominee #7! This is one of the movies I was most looking forward to seeing during Oscar season, and I’m glad I was finally able to watch it. Combining sly satire with honest character drama, this is an excellent film brought to life by a strong cast.
Thelonious Ellison, better known as Monk, is a respected but underperforming author. There’s no appetite for the kind of books he writes, and publishers shy away from his work on the grounds that it’s not the right sort of “Black book.” Aggravated by the ghetto-stereotype stories that get all the acclaim and attention, Monk writes the crassest, most pandering novel imaginable (under a pseudonym,) just to make a point. But the point is muddled when a publisher is enamored with the book and wants to offer him the biggest deal of his life.
Based on Percival Everett’s novel Erasure, the film teases out all sorts of thematic elements, both comedic and scathing, through its relatively straightforward conflict. Monk is not only offended by the attention this new book gets compared to his other work, he’s horrified and embarrassed at the thought of contributing to the larger literary landscape of stereotype-laden Black torture porn marketed to white people. But between a family crisis and some pressing financial issues, he contemplates going along with it, all the while disgusted by the whole thing. Writer/director Cord Jefferson, who’s up for Best Adapted Screenplay, shifts deftly between outrageous satire, biting commentary, and intimate moments between the characters.
I like that, alongside the satire of the publishing industry’s view of Black books, we also get a window into Monk’s complicated family life. We meet his brother and sister, we learn about some of the damaging things that informed their upbringing, and we see his mother dealing with the beginnings of Alzheimer’s. They’re a Black family who’ve been touched by conflict, pain, and loss, but none of it has to do with gangs, drugs, or prison. In a way, theirs is exactly the kind of story that Monk sees lacking in the industry, just the members of a Black family living their lives as whole individuals.
Monk’s grievances are of course legitimate, reflective of an industry that professes its desire to “listen to Black voices” but only wants to package those voices in a way that white audiences lap up. At the same time, I appreciate that Monk isn’t unquestioningly right about everything. He may often act like he is, but he doesn’t always have a good view from up on his high horse. He alienates people, and he makes assumptions about things he hasn’t read. In short, he’s a flawed, messed-up guy who’s gotten himself into a wild situation, which makes for a great narrative!
Two Oscar nominations among the main cast. Jeffrey Wright, up for Best Leading Actor, is terrific as Monk. He’s brittle and seething, he’s erudite and imperious, and he’s overwhelmed and stressed. When he’s forced to pose as his pseudonym, Stagg R. Leigh, the results are endlessly entertaining. Meanwhile, Sterling K. Brown is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for playing Monk’s brother Cliff. He’s a man who’s trying to party his way through his life falling apart, but he can’t ultimately disguise how others impact him, both positively and negatively. While Brown doesn’t have a huge role, he’s great every time he comes onscreen.
The film also features Tracey Ellis Ross (who’s fantastic in her brief role as Monk’s sister Lisa,) Leslie Uggams as his mother, Issa Rae, Miriam Shor (I always want to shout, “Yitzhak!” when I see her onscreen,) and Adam Brody, with Keith David and Okieriete Onaodowan (Hercules Mulligan!) appearing as characters in Monk’s book. And I’m not familiar with Erika Alexander, but she’s wonderful as Coraline, a smart, self-assured woman Monk gets to know over the course of the movie.
Warnings
Language (including the N-word,) violence, drinking/smoking/drug use, sexual references, and thematic elements (including references to suicide.)
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