Regina King Helms 'One Night in Miami' [Hopefully] Straight To The Oscars
Starring Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge, Leslie Odom Jr., Lance Reddick
R
Drama
Run time: 1 hr, 54 min
Directed by Regina King
On Amazon Prime January 15, 2021
The strongest thing I can say after watching this movie is that I think it’s created a sub-genre I want more of: a fictional tale about nonfictional people. The creation of this story is one that I found incredibly fascinating, and it is beautifully told. Everything about this movie is beautiful to watch, from the rich decor and costuming to the way it’s shot. Despite the subject of this movie not being able to be fully verified, you get the impression that the writer tries incredibly hard to convey these larger-than-life historical figures as accurately as possible. I felt like I learned so much despite the details of this not exactly being what we’d read about in the history books.
One Night In Miami tells about a series of conversations between Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), Malcom X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Cassius Clay (Eli Goree) and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) in and around a hotel room when these men are at - or near - the height of their fame. They discuss their relationships and roles to the Black Power movement, to one another, to their faith and within their careers. There is appreciation, friction and even affection between each of the men. We get glimpses of their lives outside of this evening, but so much of their characters come through in these few conversations, and it’s not as cut and dry as school may have had us all believe.
Before I’d even seen this film, I’d heard people saying that if Regina King wasn’t nominated for Best Director, it would be a crime. Within 35 minutes, I was sold on the same thing. I found myself distracted and not even listening to some of the dialogue just because I was taking in the look of the whole film. That being said, I have no complaints about any of the performances in this film. (I will admit that my brain kept getting confused at the fact that Leslie Odom Jr was singing in a different period of hair and wardrobe, but that’s due to my own obsession of watching the first act of Hamilton.) The chemistry between all the actors is phenomenal and incredibly lived in. It was so easy to lose yourself in the relationships between them and fully believe they all had history with each other.
This sounds ridiculous, but it’s almost frustrating when I can’t find many faults with a movie. It’s so much more difficult to write about when you just want to say, “It was a really good movie!” For example, I thought One Night was slow at times, but it had to be! It was the whole point - it’s one night of these four incredible men crossing paths. It isn’t supposed to be a Fast & Furious style car chase. And there was something wonderful about watching a movie that was clearly an award contender without hitting you over the head with it. I’m thrilled that this was released on streaming since it would be missing so many people if it was solely in theaters.