Captivating drama, but questionable accuracy
The 1960's marked a turning point and a turbulent era in America in which black people in this country, through civil rights protests and violent uprising in major U.S. cities, vociferously expressed their frustration with a racist society that had historically ignored their plight of second-class citizenship, disenfranchisement, and other social injustices.
In "One Night in Miami," four prominent young black men -- Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, Jim Brown and Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) -- all meet together in the room of a Miami motel in February 1964 to discuss civil rights in America, the central issue in this country at that time, and what they could do to help bring an end to black oppression.
They meet at the motel after the then-Cassius Clay defeats world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston in a stunning upset to win the world title at the Miami Convention Center. While Brown, Cooke, and Clay are eager to celebrate Cassius's victory by partying in downtown Miami -- with Brown eagerly wanting to go on a sex hunt, which he expresses in a more than blunt manner -- Malcolm, the eldest, most focused of the four, and de facto leader and organizer of the summit meeting, wants the gathering of the four brothers to be private, and a time to "reflect" and discuss ways in which the four black men, with their powerful influence, can erase the plight of oppression that has for far too long plagued black people in America.
All four actors in the movie deliver splendid, solid performances in their respective roles. Kingsley Ben-Adir is convincing as Malcolm X, and does a quite fine job of portraying Malcolm's intense intellect and dedication to ending the strife of racial injustice. With his light-skinned complexion and lissome physique, he does bear a strong resemblance to the late black nationalist leader. (Incidentally, if someone ever plans to create a bio movie on former President Barack Obama, Ben-Adir would undoubtedly make an excellent cast for the role.) Eli Goree is just as convincing as the young Cassius Clay and is highly effective in portraying the boxing legend's signature traits of joviality and braggadocio, much in the same manner that actor Will Smith did in his Oscar-nominated portrayal of the sport legend in the 2003 biographical movie.
Although both Aldis Hodge and Leslie Odom, Jr. didn't bear strong resemblance to their figures, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke, respectively, they do well in depicting the personas of the two characters. Hodge effectively illustrates the NFL legend's commitment and devotion to end social injustice in American society, and Odom convincingly depicts Cooke as the fun-loving and talented soul balladeer, who Malcolm earnestly tries to persuade to become more socially conscious. Odom even sings a few of Cooke's classic songs in the movie, and hearing his soul stirring vocal rendition of "A Change is Gonna Come" is truly a real treat.
Academy-award winning actress Regina King, in her directorial debut, does well in overseeing the creation of this film, which was adapted from Kemp Power's award-winning 2013 Los Angeles play. She did a splendid job of transitioning the stage play to film, never a simple task in film direction, even for seasoned film directors, and certainly did prove that she does possess the competence and promise to successfully make the next transition in her career to a Hollywood director.
But despite powerful acting performances and strong direction of this film, perhaps the only short coming of this movie is the dubiousness about the interactions between these four men black on that evening in 1964, and the question as to if they even ever occurred. To the credit of playwright Kemp Powers and the movie makers, they openly acknowledge that this is a fictionalized account, and when we see internal disagreements among the four men evolve into heated and profane arguments (and even near physical altercations), the movie appears to become conjecture and maybe a bit over imaginative.
The problem here with mixing fiction and historical figures is that it is difficult to respect the elements of the story as it is being depicted. For instance, there's a scene in which Malcolm calls Cooke's attention to up-and-coming white folk singer Bob Dylan and his then new song protesting racism in America, "Blowin' the Wind," in an effort to impress upon Cooke that he should use his pop music as a vehicle to speak out against racial oppression. Although legend has it that Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" did inspire Cooke to write his own 60's social protest song, "A Change is Gonna Come," it's highly unlikely however that Malcolm ever brought this to Sam's attention, given that NOI leader Elijah Muhammad strictly forbid his followers from listening to pop music particularly by white artists, as Muhammad viewed this as a "white man's vice."
Nevertheless, "One Night in Miami" is a compelling and intriguing drama that effectively captures the tension and commitment of that revolutionary period in America and powerfully depicts how four prominent black American men courageously vowed to achieve racial justice for their people, and that a change was indeed gonna come. But just don't document it in any historical texts.
In "One Night in Miami," four prominent young black men -- Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, Jim Brown and Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) -- all meet together in the room of a Miami motel in February 1964 to discuss civil rights in America, the central issue in this country at that time, and what they could do to help bring an end to black oppression.
They meet at the motel after the then-Cassius Clay defeats world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston in a stunning upset to win the world title at the Miami Convention Center. While Brown, Cooke, and Clay are eager to celebrate Cassius's victory by partying in downtown Miami -- with Brown eagerly wanting to go on a sex hunt, which he expresses in a more than blunt manner -- Malcolm, the eldest, most focused of the four, and de facto leader and organizer of the summit meeting, wants the gathering of the four brothers to be private, and a time to "reflect" and discuss ways in which the four black men, with their powerful influence, can erase the plight of oppression that has for far too long plagued black people in America.
All four actors in the movie deliver splendid, solid performances in their respective roles. Kingsley Ben-Adir is convincing as Malcolm X, and does a quite fine job of portraying Malcolm's intense intellect and dedication to ending the strife of racial injustice. With his light-skinned complexion and lissome physique, he does bear a strong resemblance to the late black nationalist leader. (Incidentally, if someone ever plans to create a bio movie on former President Barack Obama, Ben-Adir would undoubtedly make an excellent cast for the role.) Eli Goree is just as convincing as the young Cassius Clay and is highly effective in portraying the boxing legend's signature traits of joviality and braggadocio, much in the same manner that actor Will Smith did in his Oscar-nominated portrayal of the sport legend in the 2003 biographical movie.
Although both Aldis Hodge and Leslie Odom, Jr. didn't bear strong resemblance to their figures, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke, respectively, they do well in depicting the personas of the two characters. Hodge effectively illustrates the NFL legend's commitment and devotion to end social injustice in American society, and Odom convincingly depicts Cooke as the fun-loving and talented soul balladeer, who Malcolm earnestly tries to persuade to become more socially conscious. Odom even sings a few of Cooke's classic songs in the movie, and hearing his soul stirring vocal rendition of "A Change is Gonna Come" is truly a real treat.
Academy-award winning actress Regina King, in her directorial debut, does well in overseeing the creation of this film, which was adapted from Kemp Power's award-winning 2013 Los Angeles play. She did a splendid job of transitioning the stage play to film, never a simple task in film direction, even for seasoned film directors, and certainly did prove that she does possess the competence and promise to successfully make the next transition in her career to a Hollywood director.
But despite powerful acting performances and strong direction of this film, perhaps the only short coming of this movie is the dubiousness about the interactions between these four men black on that evening in 1964, and the question as to if they even ever occurred. To the credit of playwright Kemp Powers and the movie makers, they openly acknowledge that this is a fictionalized account, and when we see internal disagreements among the four men evolve into heated and profane arguments (and even near physical altercations), the movie appears to become conjecture and maybe a bit over imaginative.
The problem here with mixing fiction and historical figures is that it is difficult to respect the elements of the story as it is being depicted. For instance, there's a scene in which Malcolm calls Cooke's attention to up-and-coming white folk singer Bob Dylan and his then new song protesting racism in America, "Blowin' the Wind," in an effort to impress upon Cooke that he should use his pop music as a vehicle to speak out against racial oppression. Although legend has it that Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" did inspire Cooke to write his own 60's social protest song, "A Change is Gonna Come," it's highly unlikely however that Malcolm ever brought this to Sam's attention, given that NOI leader Elijah Muhammad strictly forbid his followers from listening to pop music particularly by white artists, as Muhammad viewed this as a "white man's vice."
Nevertheless, "One Night in Miami" is a compelling and intriguing drama that effectively captures the tension and commitment of that revolutionary period in America and powerfully depicts how four prominent black American men courageously vowed to achieve racial justice for their people, and that a change was indeed gonna come. But just don't document it in any historical texts.
- Sparky48
- Mar 7, 2021