One Night In Miami (2020) Movie Review
I have repeatedly expressed my general dislike for movies that are adapted from plays. I’m usually bored and wishing I could just see the damn play instead of sitting through the movie. One Night in Miami, is the rare exception to my dislike. This could have easily been just another play adaptation where a group of people sits in one room and prattles on about things. However, director Regina King (who is a boss and is proving she excels behind the camera just as much as she does in front of it) is able to craft a cinematic experience of the story.
One Night in Miami is a fictional account of one night and four very real men who are powerhouse superstars. Cassius Clay (Eli Goree), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) and Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir) gather together in a hotel room after Clay defeats Sonny Liston to become the new Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World. The night begins as a celebration of Clay’s win, but quickly turns into a series of fiery conversations about each man’s role in the Civil Rights movement. The main instigator of these conversations is of course Malcolm X, who pushes each man to contemplate how he is supporting or hurting the cause.
The movie is still dialogue heavy, but King puts her own twist on the story by incorporating some venue changes as well as flashbacks to give us a better sense of the story and characters. We see Sam Cooke singing on a few different occasions, Malcolm X with his family, Jim Brown facing racism in Georgia, and Cassius Clay in the ring. These scenes are all woven into the main setting which is a hotel room. It is in this hotel room that the majority of the movie takes place.
The movie is carried by the phenomenal acting display from the four main actors. My personal favorite was Hodge who gave Brown a very measured and weary demeanor. He is often the calmest one in the room and his presence was felt whether he was speaking or not. Odom Jr. was fantastic as Sam Cooke, hitting all the right notes both literally and figuratively. Ben-Adir was particularly notable as Malcolm X. He steered the conversation for most of the movie and challenged the other three men to reflect on their lives in ways they’d prefer not to. The ideologies on display for each of the men are an interesting contrast and this helps to keep the movie dynamic and entertaining.
These four legendary men were friends in real life and although the conversations themselves are fictional, it’s easy to imagine that somewhere along the way in their friendships they had similar ones. As for King’s directorial debut, it is a knockout. It is extremely difficult to adapt a play into a movie and avoid the dull tonal feel. But King finds a way to keep things flowing and puts her own stamp on this classic story. One Night in Miami is all around a solid movie with four excellent acting performances and a strong directorial performance.
Film or Movie: Movie
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You like the play One Night in Miami
2. You’re interested in the 1960’s and the civil rights movement
3. You like dialogue heavy movies