One Night in Miami

I don't think I'll ever get over the fact that my local theaters never played If Beale Street Could Talk in time for the Oscars. I would have seen it the first weekend it was out. Seriously.

Anyway, Regina King, who won an Oscar for that film, makes her directorial debut with One Night in Miami. Kemp Powers adapted his own stage play for this Amazon Prime exclusive. It just became available for the service this past weekend. And I wasted little time in watching it.

February 25, 1964. Cassius Clay (Eli Goree) is crowned the World Heavyweight Champion by defeating Sonny Liston. Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom, Jr.) are in the audience. The four of them meet that night at Malcolm's motel room. 

They spend the night conversing about their roles in Black America. Among the subjects are Clay's converting to Islam (where he'll rename himself Muhammed Ali), Malcolm's desire to leave the Nation of Islam, Brown wanting to pursue a movie career and the sounds of Cooke's music. It's an eventful night.

We also have an eventful prologue to Fight Night. It's a good introduction to the ensemble. Brown meets a family friend (Beau Bridges) who turns out to be racist. Meanwhile, Cooke plays to a cold audience at the Copacabana. Also meanwhile, Malcolm talks to his wife about his aforementioned plan. We don't need to hear them monologue like Shakespeare to air their frustrations. Their faces speak for themselves. We see them deal with their fears and doubts during the night.

Finally, we have Cassius Clay, whose showmanship is perfectly presented by Goree. The film opens with his narrow victory against Henry Cooper. His victory against Liston gives him much to think about. Much of the film is about Clay debating whether to convert or not. Malcolm's doubts with the Nation of Islam give Clay his own doubts. We see his humility and thoughtfulness unfold during the night. Overall, Goree, Odom Jr, Ben-Adir and Hodge make a great ensemble to spend 110 minutes with.

One Night in Miami is an excellent way to spend your day anywhere. You'll get to know the men behind four modern legends in no time. You'll get a compelling story about using one's fame to advance social justice. You'll rarely notice that it's a stage play on film. The titular night is a lot of things, but it's never boring. It's a great addition to Amazon Prime's film catalog. 

And I've got a few more to get through.