This seems to be the year of turning historically significant stage plays into strong feature films, and I am here for it. Hot off the heels of Netflix’s homage to the “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, comes the Amazon Original One Night in Miami, a dazzling interpretation of Kemp Powers’ play about the infamous night four formidable figures spent together, passionately discussing race, religion, and philosophy through monologues and music.
Miami, 1964. Friends gather to celebrate a surprising post-victory win for Cassius Clay aka Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree), the underdog who was all but guaranteed to lose his fight against heavyweight champion Sonny Liston. Reveling in glory and fame, Cassius is quickly humbled when his friends arrive at his hotel room– a room he was forced to book because Jim Crow-era segregation laws wouldn’t allow him to stay in Miami Beach. Over the course of one night, Cassius and his friends, activist Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), singer Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and football star Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) passionately talk about their roles as leaders in the Black Power Movement and how they can better represent their community on the streets, on the stage, on the field, and in the ring.
While One Night in Miami is a fictitious account, it doesn’t negate the fact that the brotherly bond shared between these four icons was monumental…
Proving that her creative talents extend far beyond her on-screen performances, first-time filmmaker Regina King delivers a solid directorial debut in One Night in Miami. Granted, the shooting script is pretty straight forward with most of the filming taking place in one room over one night, but she has the thespian’s golden touch when it comes to coaxing the best performances out of her actors. Kingsley Ben-Adir’s passionate monologues as Malcolm X will shake you to your core, and Leslie Odom Jr.’s soulful rendition of Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” will cause the hairs on the back of your neck to stand up straight.
Watching this interpretation of how four of the original Black Power Movement influencers could have spent that infamous night is incredibly inspiring. While One Night in Miami is a fictitious account, it doesn’t negate the fact that the brotherly bond shared between these four icons was monumental, both that night and evermore.
Distributed by Amazon Studios, One Night in Miami is in select theaters on Friday, December 25, 2020. Coming to Amazon Prime Video on January 15, 2021.
