One Night in Miami

This year continues with another film that I'll likely hear "bUt tHiS iS a 2020 MoViE!" when it shows up on the 2021 Rath Awards, but even more importantly, it continues an awesome trend of new movies I've been seeing. 

With Soul - the 2020 Rath Award Best Movie, then the still-surging-in-my-head Promising Young Woman earlier this weekend, One Night in Miami gives us yet another awesome film to keep this streak alive.

To be specific, I'd say this film is my least favorite of the three above but when you consider how much I loved those, that leaves a lot of wiggle room for this Regina King-directed historical film. And yes, if you're not aware, it's that Regina King who was seen gallivanting around in HBO's Watchmen recently and has an acting resume a mile long in front of it. Much like our other film this weekend, it's her directorial film debut and that adds to how impressive the whole package is. 

One Night in Miami tells of the nearly unbelievable true story of a point in time in Miami where four black icons spent the evening together in the mid 60's, during some of the most important years for African Americans and Civil Rights in this country's history. What they actually talked about that night is likely unknown except to them and it's here where the story takes liberties - for all we know they could have been talking about girls, sports, etc. - but you can venture to assume that these "Black Avengers" spent some time discussing the most pressing moments of the time during their time together. Jim Brown, iconic Cleveland Browns running back, Sam Cooke, the "King of Soul, Muhammad Ali (at the time known as Cassius Clay), the greatest boxer who ever lived, and Malcom X, human rights activist and minister, were all together in one location at this point. It's a moment that has hindsight for those of us in 2021, recognizing the influence in the room when it was largely unknown to them at that time. 

One Night in Miami - surprisingly given that it's a directorial debut - is a film that does almost nothing "wrong". My only complaint about it is that the ending feels disjointed and less firm than the rest of the film, leading to a "Well, I guess we need to end our movie now" feeling. Otherwise, this is a film with a lot of dialogue. Not much actually happens, but the imagined conversations of what they potentially discussed are important (more on that later). In that sense, this won't be a film for everyone, though I argue its significance should outweigh the matter of if you want to watch it or not. Thankfully, it doesn't all take place in a single location, though there are long segments in a hotel room, but it keeps the movie feeling like there's still a world outside these mens' door. Unlike the recent Ma Rainey's Black Bottom that felt a bit claustrophobic and trapped, Miami feels small, sure, but like it still has the ability to move around. 

Compelling conversations...to be a fly on the wall

Recreating an actual photo

The performances elevate the film too which, to be fair, has very good base material. Not only did they find actors with very close looking appearances, they're just talented actors in general. Eli Goree plays Cassius Clay as arrogant, but fun. Aldis Hodge plays Jim Brown as brooding and calm. Leslie Odom Jr. as Sam Cooke is layered and smart. Kingsley Ben-Adir as Malcom X is stubborn and eloquent. Together, they have great chemistry and genuinely feel like friends from the past with the weight of various worlds (football, boxing, music, civil rights) on their shoulders. The script is powerful too, diving head first into discussions around religion - this is around the time Cassius Clay was looking to become Muslim - civil rights, the white man, black voices, and the movement at large. We're given interesting conflict, primarily between Malcom X and the other men, as they try to convince him that the the world isn't so "black and white" while he tries to convince them to not let their guards down and use their voices. It's obviously very timely stuff given what's going on in the world and one can't help but wonder who the 4 Men are today that are having similar conversations and will have this similar movie about them in 2080.

One Night in Miami is a relevant film that, while it may be small in activity and scope, is much larger in meaning and historical significance. It's one of those fascinating films where the historical context is just cool to think about and the outcome is a well-done interpretation of what may have been discussed that evening between four world icons. 

CONS

• Ending felt a bit off, like it couldn't quite determine the best exit route to take
• Feels a tad longer than it is because of the small scope and same-ish locations

PROS

•  The historical significance is remarkable and makes it worth watching alone, not to mention the current relevance
• For Regina King's directorial debut on a film, she crushes it!
• The small scope helps the film (and viewers) focus on the dialogue versus anything else
• Fantastic performances by all four men. There's no weak link and they each provide a fleshed out version of these characters. The fact they all look similar too is eerie
• Poignant script that doesn't shy away from the issues and arguments these men could have had. The conversations around topics like religion and the Civil Rights movement aren't as basic as you may guess and the conflict comes from each man's differing opinion (largely based on the careers they have too)
• Compelling and interesting. One Night in Miami keeps this awesome movie streak alive

Rath's Review Score | 8/10