SBIFF 2024 is a year of paying homage to substantial actors who haven’t gotten their due as leading actors. Certainly, that’s the case with Robert Downey, Jr. and Mark Ruffalo, whose tribute nights served to remind us of their tremendous range and dedication to craft, in spite of a paucity of notable leading spotlights. So it goes, as well, with last night’s Arlington “Montecito Award” tribute subject Jeffrey Wright. His smashing work as the lead of American Fiction earned him a deserved Oscar nod but also reminded us that a filmography packed with juicy supporting roles (including in Wes Anderson’s ironic charmer Asteroid City) has only gone to the lead actor place in such notable films as Basquiat. And yet the rich fabric of his filmography going back to 1990 makes him an influential legend hiding in semi-plain sight.
In discussing his Oscar-nom’ed film role, Wright noted it was a saga about a “family that puts the 'fun' in ‘dysfunctional,’” but also pointed that “it’s just everybody’s family.” In the plot about a serious black author succumbing to a nom de plume and pandering style to sell books, “he’s dealing with his situation while trying to express his true self.
“The satire is great. and stirs conversations. We’re not smart about talking about race, but we’re all thinking about it. We can do it in this film and can even laugh while doing that. But for me, it was all about family. That’s the heart, body, and soul of the film.”