One Night in Miami…

Grade: B

I found out during One Night in Miami’s closing credits that it is based on a play, which did not surprise me in the least. I often like going into movies cold, without having done much research until afterwards. All I knew was it was about a meeting between four friends (and prominent celebrities at their peaks) in a Miami hotel room one evening in February 1964. They are Jim Brown, Cassius Clay, Sam Cooke, and Malcolm X. Films like these often begin with a lengthy sequence where each character gets introduced individually before they assemble. We know they’re going to get together – we just have to get through the exposition part.

We get to the meat and potatoes about half an hour in. I wasn’t sure what we were in for. I was figuring it would be a Hangover type movie with these 4 legendary guys out for a night on the town. Actually, what we get is the filmed play. We get to be a fly on the wall in this hotel room while these amazing actors and characters talk, argue, laugh, cry, drink, smoke, muse, discuss hopes and dreams, and listen to Bob Dylan. Some moments are brilliant and fun, others might make you check out for a bit. I’m glad it has a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination. I think I preferred Eli Goree’s performance as Cassius Clay over Will Smith’s in Ali. More opportunity to show range without the constraints of being the title character in a biopic that goes through the motions. Aldis Hodge is a fine and earnest Jim Brown, the only one of the four who is still alive. Kingsley Ben-Adir as Malcolm X impressed me just as much as the nominated performance. Best Supporting Actor nominee Leslie Odom Jr – known to most as Aaron Burr, sir – isn’t given as much time as others to be flashy in the book scenes, but where he shines is when he is performing songs. I’ve never seen footage of the real Sam Cooke, but Odom gives us a master class in continuing to act while singing, and making the lyrics land and really mean something.

I can’t escape Atlanta actors, nor do I want to. I’ve said they are the solid foundation that supports these stars and makes them look good. Happily surprised to see my friends Robert Wayne, Dustin Lewis, and John Curran. Too bad their appearances were in my least favorite part of the film. Director Regina King (a Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner two years ago) has put together a good, sometimes great film with One Night in Miami, and ends it with the kind of flourish that can make a critic boost their grade to the next highest one. It takes a while to arrive, but when it does, this is a movie to feed your soul.

Grade: B