Film Review: ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
WDCB’s Gary Zidek reviews the new film, ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI.
On February 25 1964, four icons of American culture gathered together in a Miami hotel room for an impromptu celebration. The VIP guest list included Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay), Sam Cooke, Jim Brown and Malcolm X. There’s been a lot of speculation, but not much is known about what went on that night at the Hampton House Motel. Ripe for dramatization, playwright and filmmaker Kemp Powers wrote a play inspired by that fateful night, titled ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI. It premiered to great reviews in Los Angeles in 2013. Powers was then approached to adapt his stage play for the screen and in the summer of 2019 Academy Award-winning actor Regina King signed on to direct. The film version of ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI opens in select theaters and will be available to watch on Amazon Prime starting Friday January 15.
Left to Right: Leslie Odom Jr. as Sam Cooke, Aldis Hodge as Jim Brown, Kingsley Ben Adir as Malcolm X, and Eli Goree as Muhammad Ali star in the new film ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
So why were Ali, Cooke, Brown and Malcom X all in Miami that night? That was the date that Ali shocked the world by defeating world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston. The men were in town to show support for their friend on one of his most important nights. Post-fight it’s implied that Ali, Cooke and Brown are anticipating some sort of celebratory victory party, when Malcolm X invites them all back to his hotel room that night. But the Nation of Islam spokesman has other ideas, he’s planned an evening of reflection, though an ulterior motive emerges later on.
Once the film settles in at the hotel room it really starts to find its rhythm. Pleasantries soon fade, and the men begin to discuss some heavier issues. We think of these figures as legends, but as the movie progresses we learn more about each of their insecurities even as they sit atop their respective fields. As the night progresses, tensions rise. The driving conflict emerges through a continual back-and-forth between Cooke and Malcolm X. ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI is Regina King’s feature length directorial debut. She shows a deft touch balancing story and screen time. There are a number of pitfalls for a project like this, with so much going on, a lesser film might have lost it’s way.
Leslie Odom Jr. as Sam Cooke in ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
