Regina King’s directorial debut One Night in Miami is a wonderful departure from the traditional biopic formula. Instead of focusing on key events from the lives of the famous, One Night in Miami gives us a fictionalized, night-long conversation four iconic men might have been having at that exact moment in history. The titular night is February 25th, 1964, just after Cassius Clay’s boxing match with Sonny Liston and just before the famous athlete changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Cassius Clay (Eli Goree), musician Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and former NFL player Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) gather together in a motel room to discuss the weight they carry as celebrities to help create social change through the Civil Rights Movement. Thanks to the lead actors, along with genius writing by Kemp Powers who adapted his own play for the screen, we’re able to get a glimpse of the real people behind the iconic personas...
At the film’s center is Kingsley Ben-Adir who’s best in show as the self-aware, militant, and astute yet unguarded Malcolm X. While Ben-Adir plays Malcolm X as a man with sharp diction and a rigid reserve, his explosive moments, where he forces the other three men to see why they should play their part, reveal a more fragile side to the more famed activist. Meanwhile, Aldis Hodge acts as co-MVP as NFL player Jim Brown. As tensions escalate throughout the night, Brown serves as the group mediator and even as Hodge remains observant, his authoritative line deliveries are enough to change thee mood. Especially during a pivotal conversation involving Brown and Malcolm X where Brown forces Malcolm to step away from his own worldview.
Then there’s Leslie Odom Jr. who’s in fine form as musician Sam Cooke. His conflict with Malcolm X is key the film's arc. Malcolm X wants Cooke to speak to the Civil Rights movement while Cooke, he feels, is only worried about bringing himself a financially stable future in the music industry. As Cooke and Malcolm X collide, Odom Jr. portrays the singer with charisma and tenacity. He stubbornly holds onto his ideals while forcing Malcolm X to see that the world isn’t as black and white as he believes it is. Eli Goree is also exceptional as the magnetic and blustering Cassius Clay even if his storyline isn’t given as much weight as that of his co-stars.
The inspired parallel opening scenes smartly lay the foundation for the theme of brotherhood, as all four men are having rough individual moments: Clay gets pinned down in his 1963 boxing match with Henry Cooper, Cooke flops at a Copacabana performance, and Brown encounters a racist white Southerner (Beau Bridges). Once all four men are gathered in the motel room, where most of the film takes place, they're talking race relations throughout the night. Despite the weighty themes and thoughtful dialogue, Powers manages to insert small moments of humor to give it some mirth.
This imagined conversation takes place in the 1960s, but is a conversation that could easily take place in the 80s... or 2021. That searing timeliness, along with the masterful acting and writing give One Night in Miami its impact. This is an assured feature directorial debut from Regina King that proves her to be a gifted multi-hyphenate talent. A-
One Night in Miami is currently in theaters and is available to stream on Prime Video on January 15th.