One Night in Miami

Starring: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jr., Lance Reddick, Christian Magby, Joaquina Kalukango, Nicollette Robinson, Michael Imperioli, Beau Bridges
Directed by: Regina King
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
2020

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary: In Miami, Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree), Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) meet and discuss their careers, their dreams, and America as it exists in the 1960s.

Review:

Tim: More than any other year, I've been desperate to find great movies in 2020. It's been challenging since so many moved out of the calendar due to the pandemic. I was really excited to see Regina King's One Night in Miami, as it'd been touted as one of the year's best. I can say that the movie is really good and it's an important movie for this day and age, as America is openly wrestling with its history (and current practice) of systemic racism. While this is a very good movie and an important movie, I didn't see anything here to suggest it's truly a great film. I think it a more competitive year, this movie would have flown under the radar.

Let me say, I love the idea behind this film. It's a fictional story of what it would be like for four prominent, iconic black leaders to have spent a night hanging out in Miami. The thought of having Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown together is a tremendous one. I wasn't familiar with the original play, but I was so intrigued by this. What would they talk about? What would they see similarly? How would their views be different? The movie certainly explores this and it's interesting. However, the film ultimately gets weighted down by all the talking. It feels too loose, meandering. There's not a sense of momentum present in the movie. It feels like a story characterized by feints, retreats, and incremental progress. I didn't mind this so much at the beginning, but it begins to weigh on you as the movie gets close to its 1 hour, 54 minute run time.

One of my complaints is also about one of the movie's strengths. In the beginning of the film, we see little snippets of each of these famous men before the night in Miami. We see the great Jim Brown dealing with gut-wrenching racism. We see Muhammad Ali posturing and preparing for a crucial fight. We see Malcolm X dealing with the potentially dangerous reality of his notoriety. We see Sam Cooke bombing on stage, not due to his talent, but due to racism. These short scenes at the beginning are incredible and show crucial moments in each man's life that sums up their current situation, provides us insight into their characters. I loved these scenes. The rest of the movie never lives up to this. We get a lot of talking and a lot of back-and-forth, and it's all decent, but it's never quite as compelling. One of the highlights of the movie is when we get away from the hotel room and actually get to see Sam Cooke on stage via a flashback. It was such a relief to see Cooke in action. It was a great scene, but it serves as a reminder of how confining the rest of the movie feels. King is a good director, but she's not experienced enough to make scene after scene in and around a hotel room feel riveting. It's good- I'm not complaining too much- but it's not great. I enjoyed those scenes, I didn't love them.

The cast is really good. Kingsley Ben-Adir gets top billing and is enjoyable as Malcolm X. He's missing the burning intensity that Denzel Washington brought to the role, but he's mostly good. It's hard when you're going to be compared to one of the all time great actors who delivered a brilliant performance in that role. More than anyone else in the cast, Ben-Adir's shine comes off just a little due to the comparison. I really liked Eli Goree's performance as Cassius Clay. He brings some of the youthful energy and hard edges that make up so much of the greatest boxer of all time's personality. It's a big, fun role and Goree brings a lot of levity to the film. Aldis Hodge might be my favorite cast member. His Jim Brown is good, but he's the most reserved of the group. I wanted to see more of him. It felt like his voice wasn't heard nearly enough. Leslie Odom Jr. was fantastic as Sam Cooke. Odom Jr. is perhaps best positioned for an Academy Award nomination and he'd deserve it. He does such much with Cooke, he runs through a wide range of emotions. It's a strong performance as he brings this fascinating person to life. All four men are quite different and it was fun seeing their blended personalities and perspectives collide here. I know I'm touching on why I didn't think this movie was great, but seeing these four actors together, all bringing these different characters together is absolutely a delight to watch on screen.

One minor complaint I have is that these four men are often presented not as they were, but a slightly more idealized version of these characters. It's like who we wanted to them to be, verses who they truly were. I think each of these men was more flawed than what was presented here. That's not a huge flaw, but it nagged at me a little.

I really liked One Night in Miami. We need more movies like this and there's no reason to do anything but celebrate this success. Regina King directs a solid movie about a fictionalized account of real people and we're better for having seen this and reflected on their place in history. However, if you're asking me if this is a truly great movie, I don't see it. I've seen a ton of really good movies like this and I'd unhesitatingly recommend this movie to anyone. I just seriously doubt a decade or two from now, people will be talking about this film. It's good, but it doesn't have the staying power that the great films have.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Malcolm & Marie, Malcolm X, Hamilton