One Night in Miami... (2020)
Directed by Regina King
In the aftermath of Cassius Clay's defeat of Sonny Liston in 1964, the boxer meets with Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown to change the course of history in the segregated South.
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5 films that influenced One Night in Miami...
What critics say influenced One Night in Miami...
Screenwriter Kemp Powers bases the script on his own 2013 play, joining “12 Angry Men” (1957) and “Fences” (2016) by taking place in mostly one location.
Based on Powers’ stage play of the same name, One Night in Miami is a highly effective courtroom thriller that can be related in terms of structure to Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men .
Miami is a four-for-one special, giving us two hours of intimate scenes with Muhammad Ali (still known at that point as Cassius Clay and played by Eli Goree), Malcolm X ( High Fidelity ’s Kingsley Ben-Adir), Jim Brown ( Clemency ’s Aldis Hodge), and Sam Cooke ( Hamilton ’s Leslie Odom Jr.).
Before and after the bout, the future Muhammad Ali hangs out with his equally important pals — activist Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir, High Fidelity), footballer Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge, The Invisible Man) and musician Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr, Hamilton) — with this equally meticulous and moving certain future Oscar-nominee ficitionalising their time together.
Ben-Adir (“High Fidelity”) tiene el papel más carnoso y aprovecha la ocasión para darle una nueva dimensión al ministro, convirtiéndose en una fuerza magnética y productora de enérgicos discursos.
In regards to the more recent controversy surrounding Peter Farrelly’s Green Book sweeping the 91st Academy Awards with its on-the-nose racial politics, it’s hard not to speculate that King and Kemp take a direct swipe; speaking of the virtues of California, Cooke notes it’s a place where you “ain’t need no Green Book telling you where we can and can’t go” before he and his friends joke about making a film together.
Powers has brilliantly filled in the blanks of what may have transpired in the Hampton House, a Green Book -listed motel where they gathered, under the protection (and possible surveillance) of Nation of Islam guards.
Es, en pocas palabras, la película que los creadores de Una amistad sin fronteras (Green Book, 2018) creyeron hacer.
The sharp editing by Tariq Anwar (Oscar nominated for his work in the 2010 drama The King’s Speech ) accentuates the power of the conflicts between the characters, weaponizing the performances.
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As the men bounce from topic to topic, One Night in Miami can feel a bit pre-programmed, like a fictionalized Black history lesson along the lines of Hidden Figures.