Every good story needs an A-Story and a B-Story. Steve Rogers might be a super-soldier embroiled in a plot to stop a rogue Nazi science division from killing millions (A-Story), but he's also fumbling around the edges of a romantic relationship with Agent Peggy Carter (B-Story).
B-Stories serve to ground and humanise a character--especially larger-than-life heroes--but they also usually act as a conduit for our character's innermost thoughts, feelings, and emotions. These things need to be conveyed to a reader or viewer, and it normally takes a friendship, family dynamic, or romantic interest to spur the character into revealing things they normally wouldn't--especially not to the A-Story's primary antagonist (if there is one).
American Fiction is a brilliant movie about a black author nicknamed Monk (Jeffrey Wright) looking to expose the hypocrisies and buffoonery of the publishing industry by writing a satirical 'black' book, but when publishers actually become interested, he's pushed to take on a false identity and weigh his beliefs against the benefits the book might provide him.
He also has a recently-divorced sister; a recently-divorced, recently-out of the closet, drug-abusing brother; a mother with Alzheimer's; a housekeeper in a new relationship; and a romantic interest who likes his books.
Now, there's obviously nothing wrong with having a wide-range of supporting characters, and I am well aware that giving Monk a multi-faceted, complex personal life is intentional on the part of the filmmakers, who are looking to fly in the face of the kind of lives we often see black men struggling with in media... but damn, there was a LOT of B-Story.
Monk's personal life plays out without melodrama and is superbly acted. The individual scenes work, with the characters acting as great foils for Monk, but there came a point when I found myself getting impatient to be back with Monk's agent and publisher, where the real meat of the story was happening. After thinking back on the movie I think it was because there was too many side-stories going on. The B-Stories also never tied concretely into the A-Story--yes, there were thematic connections and implied character growth that Monk took from the B to the A Story, but I guess the way they never tied together in a solid way left me feeling a little empty by the end, despite the generally amazing time I had along the way.
***
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