Movie Breakdown: One Night In Miami
Pre-Screening Stance:
Regina King is a total gem, so I’m more than ready to take in her directorial debut. Also, let’s face it, who doesn’t want to see a fictionalized take on a real-life meetup between Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke. What a group.
Post-Screening Ramble:
One Night In Miami very much lands in the realm of recent releases like Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and The Boys In The Band – it’s a really nice adaptation (of a play) that features fantastic performances. I loved it.
The setting for the film is a pretty basic one – just after a then-Cassius Clay (Eli Goree) defeats Sonny Liston (Aaron D. Alexander) on a night in February of 1964, he heads to a hotel to celebrate with Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.). The group’s conversations (as imagined by screenwriter Kemp Powers), however, aren’t basic or simple at all. The four men touch on their careers, the Nation of Islam, social movements and more, and they – for lack of a better phrase – pull no punches whatsoever.
This isn’t necessarily the type of review that’s meant to dive into said convos and break them down, so I’ll simply note that I really enjoyed every single one of them. Regina King’s direction is tight, in that she doesn’t let the chatter trail off or drag, but it also has a very natural, candid feel to it. She lets her stellar cast work and really exist in that hotel room together, and the result is that the group comes off as actual friends discussing real things in a real way. Furthermore, King provides a dash of fun via a few stylistic flares that just feel right in the context of Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke spending an evening in each other’s company.
One Night In Miami is an award-worthy effort on all fronts. You must see it (doubly so if you dig dialogue-heavy films) when it lands on Amazon Prime Video on January 15.
One Last Thought:
As I mentioned, the entire cast of this film is wildly good. My favorite performance of the bunch though? Eli Goree as Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali. The guy – just as was needed/required for the role – exudes charisma in his portrayal of the greatest boxer of all-time. I’m excited to see what he does next.
