One Night in Miami may if nothing else have the best concept for a film this year; the fictionalised presentation of a real life hotel gathering of friends Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, Jim Brown and Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay, as I will refer to him throughout this review). Regina King marks her directorial debut adapting Kemp Power’s powerhouse play for the screen, who also wrote the screenplay. Miami puts four incredible figures in one room and has four astounding actors bring the complexities of these men and their ideals and lives onto the screen with a power and entertainment that makes this very simple story, one that you can’t turn away from.

Credit

The crowning achievement of Miami is without a doubt the four central performances of our leads. With a tagline like Four legends, one legendary night. You know that you have some very big shoes to fill and it’s a challenge that is more than met by our four actors, who are dealing with playing real life figures unlike any others, for we know exactly what they sound like and look like. In certain biopics (not that I would ever describe this as such) you can find yourself playing somebody that people actually have no idea about, or people who everybody knows and everybody can hear as soon as their name is mentioned. Malcolm X, Cooke, Clay and Brown are four such legends. On top of this of course there is also the added level of difficulty for Kingsley Ben-Adir (Malcolm X) and Eli Goree (Cassius Clay), as people who already have movies about them with performances from iconic actors, with Denzel Washington’s X being one of the greatest performances of all time (a comment almost undisputed in the film community). All of our players however more than rise to their separate challenges and deliver thoughtful, reserved and dimensional performances, never bordering on caricature, but always blending in the real life elements to make them complete encapsulations of these figures at this very specific time in their lives. Eli Goree as Clay has most of that performative energy about him, but also has immense moments of pathos and subtlety. Aldis Hodge as Jim Brown is perhaps the least showy of the four performances, but for me was one of the best, with a razors edge juggling of strength and vulnerability. The two central performances of the ensemble would have to be commented as Ben-Adir and Leslie Odom Jr. as Sam Cooke. All the rapturous acclaim for Ben-Adir and his stirring, delicate, moving and immensely powerful performance as Malcolm is the stuff that careers are made of and I can’t wait to see what comes next. However for me Odom stole the show as Cooke; performing all of his own songs and delivering every ounce of the joy, intelligence and power of Cooke’s life and talent and tragic end all in the space of the running time. Powerful is a word I keep using, that’s because it’s the one word that fits the film best.

Credit

Powers has placed the 90 minutes of his play as the centre piece of King’s film, whilst adding four very tight and impactful introductory scenes prior to it, aswell as a culminating conclusion montage solidifying all the emotion and power of what we have just seen. Powers ingenious concept of course does have its natural downfalls, for although we are dealing with some of the most intelligent men of the era, it is a very hard stretch sometimes for us to believe the truth of what these men are saying in the moment. The wording and profound intelligence and literary nature of what they are saying naturally comes off as stagey and performative and where as this could be the mode of the piece, with it being a high concept battle of the wits, it is also paired with frequent moments of realism and humour, so the long monologues do feel out of place often. All this being said however it was just a matter of turning a switch for me, once I accepted the logic and nature of the situation, I was more than in for the film – because these grand invented conversations are exceptionally well devised and written by Powers, and more than well delivered by its stars. Beyond the lead four in fact the film also features stellar work by lance Reedick, Joaquina Kalukango and Christian Magby. With Beau Bridges perfectly summing up the entire context of the film with one incredible line delivery. King really has made a film to be reckoned with in this Oscars race and one that frankly contains multitudes. Her direction isn’t showy persay, but is also never bland. Utilising Mike Nichol’s technique of following our characters “off-stage” as he used in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, making the most out of the film medium by allowing us to see moments that we wouldn’t on stage. An extended sequence of Malcolm relaying a story is told accompanied by visual flashbacks of the evening being recalled, this is perhaps where the film feels a bit forced into a corner in its presentation, but the sequence is also great and so complaints are fairly futile.

-           

A very fine film, a solid 8/10, whose limitations are dealt with and not avoided. As a directorial debut for King, it’s a great, if not too exceptional first film. But as a showcase for four of the finest performances of the year, it’s a truly incredible piece. And as a filmic presentation of Power’s terrific script, it’s a great document to return to. The adaptations are solid and make this more than a play, but also never make it too much more than a play adaptation.

P.S. “A Change is Gonna Come” will always be one of my Top 5 favourite songs of all time, and although its use here is sensational and powerful as anything. When it comes to Cooke on film, and when it comes to “Gonna Come” on film, and when it comes to Cooke and “Gonna Come” in a film about Malcolm X – as a song underscoring a concluding montage. Sorry Regina, but Spike takes it.

-  Thomas Carruthers