One Night in Miami (2020)

January 24, 2021 10:12 AM

One Night in Miami is a fictional account of one incredible night where icons Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown gathered discussing their roles in the civil rights movement and cultural upheaval of the 60s.

Originally based on his stage play, Kemp Powers wrote the screenplay. Regina King made this film her directorial debut.

The True History Behind ‘One Night in Miami’
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posted by gladly (4 comments total)

I thought four actors talking in a hotel room sounded a little claustrophobic for pandemic viewing, but I'm really glad I gave this a chance. Even though the night in the hotel room is the crux of the story, there's enough surrounding scenes and then moving characters into twos before bringing them all together again. And, part of the anxiety and claustrophobia connects with what Malcolm is feeling with his constant security detail from the Nation of Islam.

I don't think I've seen Eli Goree before, and I didn't grow up with the young Clay/Ali, but he's both totally recognizable as the Champ and completely human, especially as the youngest of the foursome.

Hearing Leslie Odom Jr. sing as Sam Cooke is a bonus.
posted by gladly at 5:38 AM on January 25, 2021

Eli Goree plays Tammé's son in GLOW, if you've seen that - I was so pleased that he is in this.
posted by ChuraChura at 1:22 PM on January 25, 2021 [2 favorites]

I finally sat down to watch this - wow. That was really, really excellent. All four of the leads were fantastic and I was pretty impressed with the translation from play to movie. It felt cinematic in a way that some plays converted to movies do not.

There's Netflix documentary - The Two Killings of Sam Cooke - about the death of Sam Cooke which includes interviews with Jim Brown and some of the photos and conversations about the night this movie focuses on, which is also worth watching.
posted by ChuraChura at 8:21 PM on January 29, 2021

I really liked this. The emotional motion of it, the way it paid respect to their lives and choices, was really striking.
posted by mixedmetaphors at 5:48 PM on February 3, 2021