One Night In Miami.
Directed by Regina King
Starring Ben-Adir Kingsley, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jr, Lance Reddick and Michael Imperioli. Streaming on Amazon Prime from January 15th. 111 mins
The night is February 25th 1964 and Cassius Clay (Goree) has just become the World Heavyweight champion by pounding Sonny Liston into submission. Sam Cooke (Odom) and legendary NFL running back Jim Brown (Hodge) are there to celebrate with him. For this one night in Miami, the world is their oyster. Unfortunately, the victory party is being thrown by teetotal Nation of Islam bore Malcolm X (Kingsley) who wants to throw a great big wet blanket on the euphoria and have these four prominent black men discuss their position in the struggle. The only indulgence is vanilla ice cream, presumably ironic.
It's based on a play by Soul co-director Kemp Powers. So, once the movie has manoeuvred the four main characters into Mr X's motel room, the drama is about rotating them into a series of one-on-one conversations and group slanging matches about how each of them is using their exceptional talents to advance the position of black people in America. The theatrical mechanics take a lot of the steam out of it: it feels a little demeaning to have four such prominent figures conforming to the playwright's dance. Frustratingly it never truly addresses the enigma at the centre: that Malcolm X is about to announce to the world Clay's conversion to the Nation of Islam and reinvention as Muhammad Ali just as he has become disillusioned with it and the right honourable Elijah Muhammad. But the performances make it worthwhile.
Directed by Regina King
Starring Ben-Adir Kingsley, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jr, Lance Reddick and Michael Imperioli. Streaming on Amazon Prime from January 15th. 111 mins
The night is February 25th 1964 and Cassius Clay (Goree) has just become the World Heavyweight champion by pounding Sonny Liston into submission. Sam Cooke (Odom) and legendary NFL running back Jim Brown (Hodge) are there to celebrate with him. For this one night in Miami, the world is their oyster. Unfortunately, the victory party is being thrown by teetotal Nation of Islam bore Malcolm X (Kingsley) who wants to throw a great big wet blanket on the euphoria and have these four prominent black men discuss their position in the struggle. The only indulgence is vanilla ice cream, presumably ironic.
It's based on a play by Soul co-director Kemp Powers. So, once the movie has manoeuvred the four main characters into Mr X's motel room, the drama is about rotating them into a series of one-on-one conversations and group slanging matches about how each of them is using their exceptional talents to advance the position of black people in America. The theatrical mechanics take a lot of the steam out of it: it feels a little demeaning to have four such prominent figures conforming to the playwright's dance. Frustratingly it never truly addresses the enigma at the centre: that Malcolm X is about to announce to the world Clay's conversion to the Nation of Islam and reinvention as Muhammad Ali just as he has become disillusioned with it and the right honourable Elijah Muhammad. But the performances make it worthwhile.
