Welcome back to ‘A Brief Review’ a series of brief reviews on films from the present day and all the way back in time. Hoping to filter through the commotion and give some decent reviews of some rather decent films.
Directed by Oscar Winner Regina King, One Night in Miami
is the fictional story of a gathering between Muhammed Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke,
and Jim Brown. Each one of the figures were synonymous with the cultural upheaval
and the civil rights movement of the 1960’s. The film establishes a ground-breaking
event occurring in 1964 after a young Cassius Clay (Eli Goree) becomes the heavyweight
champion of the world. Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) takes time out of his busy performing
schedule to celebrate with his good friend Clay along with Jim Brown (Aldis
Hodge) who is in the twilight period of his American Football career, and on
the verge of making the transition into acting. The last member of the quartet
is the infamous Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir) with Malcolm courting Cassius Clay
to join him in becoming a member of the Nation of Islam. Cassius’s inclusion into
the group would prove to meet criticism especially from the forthright Sam
Cooke who appears genuinely concerned for Clay’s future due to the groups sketchy
reputation.
The film brings the audience in as a fly on the wall for a
big time American conversation by four people who spoke for their generation.
With Sam and Jim eager to celebrate Cassius’ achievement, Malcolm wants to use
the moment to discuss how everyone can be doing more to improve their own lives
as oppressed African Americans. Sam Cooke believes in changing perceptions with
his music, speaking to white folk directly in the lyrics, whereas Malcolm X focuses
on the power of division in an attempt to create an ‘us and them’ perspective
of race in America. However, it is Aldis Hodge as Jim brown who steals the show
for me, his calm demeanour reminds each of the dominant personalities that when
everything is considered they are all on the same side, regardless of their
disagreements over the fine print.
King’s direction is unassuming yet manages to cultivate passionate performances from its stars. A film that you can feel is important material for its director and the cast alike. The flowing cinematography and vivid soundtrack bounces from diegetic to non-diegetic music, driving home the authenticity of One Night in Miami, a story that forces us to look inwardly at our past, whilst looking forward to the future. The only negative thought that dominates is the tragedy that 3 of the 4 figures have now passed on, untimely in the cases of Sam Cooke and Malcolm X. Both Cooke and Malcolm exuberated a real sense of maturity and potential at such a young age, leading to only more sadness that they were taken away from us so prematurely. One Night in Miami offers a genuine feeling of what could have been.
As Sam Cooke said 'A change is gonna come’ and it did, as One
Night in Miami highlights how far we have come to combat racial injustice all
over the world. However, this is by no means a battle that has been won, we can
only strive to keep improving, hence the importance of films like One Night
in Miami.
One Night in Miami is refreshing, enjoyable, but most
importantly thought provoking. Memorable performances all round, and a positive
start to 2021. The start of brighter times and the revival of cinema.
My Rating: 7.2/10
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