‘Inspired
by actual events’, One Night in Miami,
a fascinating imagining of a fateful
meeting among four pivotal figures at a critical moment in history (adapted by Kemp Powers from his
play), is compelling cinema and one of the best films of the year.
One
evening in February, 1964, in Miami, Florida, four icons meet in a seedy hotel to
celebrate Cassius Clay’s (Eli Goree) stunning, boxing triumph. Clay (soon to be
Muhammad Ali), full of bravado, is joined by Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), the football
great on the cusp of a career change, Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), a hugely
popular singer, and activist Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir) of the Nation of
Islam on the brink of starting a new movement with huge implications. As they ruminate on life and their respective
accomplishments, each realizes the power they wield to not only effect change
in civil rights, but also leads to some
hard truths and realizations that will change their lives forever.
The conceit of these
personalities converging is almost too good to be true, but it did happen. Whether events transpired as
dramatized is not as important as providing insight into each character as the
film successfully conveys real, humanized celebrities with aspirations and
fears. The ensemble excels at
personifying their real life counterparts, looking and sounding like them with Odom
a standout, singing like the real Cooke.
Though
set primarily in a hotel room which belies its theatrical origins, the film
does reenact and give new perspective to key moments in their lives. Ironically their conversations chronicle
themes amid a tense political backdrop that resonate to this day.
For her feature directorial debut, actress Regina King signals her cinematic future as a multiple threat.
**** of **** stars
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