One Night in Miami - Film Review

I want to preface this review by stating that I don't know much about the source material or the surrounding context that it depicts. As this deals with real people and very sensitive topics, I want to stress that any criticism for story and characters is solely applied to this specific film and nothing else. I'm a big fan of historical drama and found the premise of this to be very intriguing, so I kept an eye out for it and I'm happy to say my patience paid off. 

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Where You Can Find It: I saw this on Amazon Video where it is available for those with Amazon Prime accounts.

General Information 
One Night in Miami is an historical drama film that was released on 25 December 2020. It was directed by Regina King with Amazon Studios distributing. It is based on a theatrical play that shares the same name, which was written by Kemp Powers, who also wrote the screenplay for this. It holds a high 83 Metascore on Metacritic, as well as a massive 98% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Beyond excellent ratings, it has won (or been nominated) for a ton of awards from establishments like the American Film Institute and the Independent Spirit Awards. It should be mentioned that One Night in Miami will probably earn even more awards in the future as some institutes like the Academy Awards have yet to identify their nominees and this has only been out for less than two months (as of my writing).

The Story

On 25 February 1964, four icons in modern African-American history met at the Hampton House Motel in Miami, FL to celebrate Cassius Clay's (played by Eli Goree) victory over Sonny Liston. Besides Clay, NFL star Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), blues singer Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and Nation of Islam activist Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir) round out the party of revelers. Although the true contents of what happened that night are lost to time, One Night in Miami imagines what the four men could have discussed and how such conversations may have impacted each of them.

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Nothing like a little philosophical debate after a boxing match

I've seen other films based off of play/musical performances, but this one particularly wears its theatrical origins on its sleeve. Nearly the entire story takes place in that small motel room at the Hampton House Motel, however we do see establishing shots of each of the main characters both before and after 25 February 1964. The enclosed nature of this story sets an incredible amount of weight on the shoulders of its characters and their respective dialogue and I believe that the film delivers across the board. Despite that, I would say that those that are looking for a more traditional type of story that involves momentum and climax will not find it here. This is very much a film about debate and character interaction.

In an interview with Regina King, she described the story of One Night in Miami as a "love letter to the Black Man's experience." Although I can't speak to whether King's intent succeeded, a concern I had going into this film was that the characters might act/behave in ways that a twenty-first century icon would as opposed to those that were neck-deep in the Jim Crow era of the 1960s. An additional worry was that the conversation between the main characters would be essentially an echo chamber devoid of conflict where everyone simply agrees with each other. I'm quite pleased to say that's not the case as the discussions between the four men are incredibly nuanced with the friction between Sam Cooke and Malcolm X being particularly fascinating.

Special Effects/Atmosphere

We don't get to see much beyond the interior of the Hampton House Motel, however there are some brief periods in which the group ventures out. The set is fairly minimalist, which I applaud as it keeps the viewer's attention squarely focused on its characters. The costume design is pretty fantastic, as the 1960's style is on full display. The extent of how similar the main characters look to their real-life counterparts is striking to see as well. Aldis Hodge and Kingley Ben-Adir look nearly identical to Jim Brown and Malcolm X without even having to act.

The Acting

As this is a character-centric story, the actors do most of the heavy lifting and everyone pulls off their roles with aplomb. I was frankly impressed with everyone, but each of the four main characters' actors do an incredible job. Leslie Odom Jr. is arguably the best of the best as he demonstrates some significant emotional depth, as well as performing more than one of Sam Cooke's original songs with impeccable execution. His singing of "A Change is Gonna Come" is almost identical to the Cooke's real performance.

Considering I came to see this film wanting to see Malcolm X, I found Ben-Adir's portrayal to be quite remarkable. Ben-Adir reflects Malcolm X's internal dilemma over his status with the Nation of Islam with an almost desperate struggle that shows there's a lot he's dealing with. His arguments with Odom Jr. are the best, but I also found nearly every interaction he had with another character to be quite intriguing.

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Ben-Adir matches Malcolm X's fiery intensity perfectly

Although Cassius Clay is arguably the most internationally recognizable of the four main characters, and I believe Goree does an excellent job, I didn't particularly find him to be all that interesting when compared to the other three. Aldis Hodge brings an almost exhausted wariness to his role, which made him the most endearing. His arguments to Malcolm X's are done with a blunt simplicity that really only works thanks to Hodge's capabilities as an actor.

The Best of the Best: The debate between Malcolm X and Sam Cooke presents a stark contrast on how to approach racial justice.

The Worst of the Worst: If I had to complain about something, it might be that Cassius Clay's embrace of the Nation of Islam doesn't fully align with the arguments Malcolm X presents during the story. Considering how the story goes, one would have assumed Clay would've joined with Malcolm X's new order instead. I think this is one of those moments where fiction and reality collide and it doesn't quite work.

Calhooey Score: 8/10 - Great

Would I Recommend?

Regina King does an astounding job presenting a fascinating dialogue between some of America's greatest African-American icons. If you're interested in learning more about these individuals or taking in the philosophical debate that they all present, I really recommend this. Some may not find this all that appealing, if they're looking for a more traditional story experience however. I think One Night in Miami earns its fame, and I'm interested to see how this will be received as we near the awards season.

-------------------------------------------------Spoiler Comments-----------------------------------------------------

• The opening scene with Jim Brown hurt to watch. The bigotry simmered just below the surface until that final insult.
• Malcolm X knows how to party. He brought two tubs of vanilla ice cream!
• I was ecstatic to see Lance Reddick. Brother Kareem looked like someone not to screw around with.
• Somehow Christopher Moltisanti made it onto Cassius Clay's training team...
• Although I'm glad Malcolm X got a chance to complete his autobiography, I can't help but feel he was just getting started.

----------------------------------------------------References--------------------------------------------------

*Pacekakah. (2020, December 21). One Night in Miami film image. Medium. Retrieved from: https://medium.com/one-night-in-miami-2020-torrent/one-night-in-miami-2020-now-streaming-hd1080p-777428c6ac5e.

**Travers, P. (2021, January 15). One Night in Miami four image. ABC. Retrieved from: https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/night-miami-review-regina-king-makes-explosive-feature/story?id=75185857.

***Naslostcontrol. (n.d.). Malcolm X line in the sand gif. Tumgir. Retrieved from: https://www.tumgir.com/tag/ELI%20GOREE.