Direction: Regina King
Country: USA
Actress-turned-director Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk, 2018) joins forces with screenwriter Kemp Powers, who adapted his own stage play of the same name, in order to dramatize a more-stressful-than-expected fictional meeting at the Hampton House Hotel in 1964 Florida between legendary boxer Cassius Clay, singer/songwriter Sam Cooke, NFL hero Jim Brown and civil rights activist Malcolm X. These characters are compellingly portrayed by Eli Goree, Leslie Odom Jr., Aldis Hodge and Kingsley Ben-Adir, respectively.
Bolstered by thoughtful and insightful dialogue, One Night in Miami aims at the same racial problems that America still faces today. By combining in a simple episode biting wit, some high spirits, considerable tension and constructive verbal aggressiveness, the film is a talkfest that heads to important places without losing the focus on the subject. The religious topic comes tagged along, with Clay’s imminent transition to the Nation of Islam (after which he got the name Muhammad Ali) being shrouded in doubt.
Clay, who had won his first heavyweight boxing title that night, had been spiritually mentored by Malcolm, a responsible Muslim minister and family man who constantly fears for his life for defending racial equality in a divided and segregated America. The latter becomes front and center in the dramatic evolve of the story as he demands more from his three famous friends in the fight against the white oppressors. Furthermore, he announces his intention to leave the Nation of Islam to found his own organization, causing Clay to feel betrayed.
Anchored by powerful performances and rendered with both incisiveness and fluidity, this intelligently scripted film captivates our attention uninterruptedly. It comes at the right time, when the world needs equality, peace and understanding to move forward.
