one night in miami.
September has been an interesting month. In years past, this is usually a very busy time for me. Normally, I’m working for the Toronto International Film Festival helping to run the film premieres that happen during the festival. TIFF has been a part of my life for the past 7 years, 5 as a volunteer and 2 as an employee. It’s something I look forward to every year because not only do I get to work at the festival, I get to see a bunch of films that are running through the festival circuit. It’s an exhausting time but also a time where I’m reminded why I love this art form so much. (If you’ve ever experienced sitting in a room full of movie obsessives who are so excited that they’re about to watch a film they’ve been eager to see, you’ll understand. If not, I hope you do one day. There’s really nothing like it.) But as with everything COVID, September 2020 has been very different.
TIFF had to make a large pivot this year and run their festival partially online. And with their usual venues closed because of the pandemic, they also had to opt for drive-in theatres if they wanted to have a live audience. This meant a much smaller staff, hence me not participating this year. I’m not going to lie; it was a bummer to get the news. When something becomes a regular part of your year, it’s hard to have that taken away. Especially after we’ve all been adapting to these changes COVID has introduced into our lives. But, I understand. We need to be safe and this is a year like no other. Of course this September was going to be a different one. It’s a just a hard pill to swallow.
The up side to all of this is that even though I wasn’t able to be there in person, I was still able to see a couple films through the digital side of the festival and I’d really love to share one of them with you.
In Regina King’s feature length directorial debut, One Night in Miami is an imagination of a night in February 1964 where friends Jim Brown, Sam Cooke and Malcolm X get together to celebrate Cassius Clay’s (before he became Muhammed Ali) heavyweight championship win over Sonny Liston.
Each of these characters are in a state of transition. Malcolm X is in the process of leaving the Nation of Islam, Cassius Clay is on his way to becoming Muhammed Ali, Jim Brown is transitioning from the NFL to a Hollywood film career, and Sam Cooke is discovering his voice to be in service of the movement.
It’s written by Kemp Powers, who also wrote the stage play of the same name. What struck me most was right off the bat, you know what this movie is saying. In one of the first scenes, you see NFL star Jim Brown come to visit a family friend who is white. It sets you up to think that this man is accepting and progressive for the time as they sit on his front porch to catch up. But as it’s wrapping up, you get a sucker punch right in the gut when the man won’t let Jim in the house because he’s black. There’s no questioning what this movie is going to be about and why it’s been made.
The film has a vibrancy to it, I guess that makes sense because, Miami! But at the same time, the film has this ominous undertone throughout, especially when it comes to focus on Malcolm X. If you don’t know the history of Malcolm X, check out this link for starters, and thennn let me give you a very small rundown.
One Night in Miami takes place on February 25th, 1964. During this time Malcolm is taking the steps to leave the Nation of Islam. People in this group are not happy about it and he is receiving death threats and being followed. Why is this information important? Almost a year to the day later on the February 21st, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated. So even though the story is about these men coming together to celebrate a victory, the future is still so present in the background.
I think part of what made this movie so great was the casting. Kingsley Ben-Adir as Malcolm X, Eli Goree as Cassius Clay, Aldis Hodge as Jim Brown, and Leslie Odom Jr. as Sam Cooke are outstanding in their ability to play off one another and raise the stakes higher and higher as the film goes on.
For me, this is a strong first feature from Regina King. She’s directed some television in the past but hasn’t taken on something of this length until now. I could tell from the very beginning how precise her vision was with this story. After watching, you can tell that this project meant a lot to her.
With a film that is very dialogue heavy and mainly focused on what these men are saying instead of doing, you could easily lose the audience but the way the lines are written, directed and acted… that’s the genius of this film. Rarely do you see two men on screen be so vulnerable with one another, let alone two black men. It’s usually their girlfriend or mother who act as a catalyst to bring out those emotions. It was a very refreshing change of pace. Men are emotional too! Let’s see more of that on screen please!
This film is exactly why we need more women and BIPOC at the helm. The result is a far more interesting piece that leaves you questioning, what more needs to be done until equality is actually realized?
Biggest take away:
Though this is an imagined night from the past, the issues talked about in this film have not been left there. They are ever more present and poignant today.
Most powerful moment of the movie:
Leslie Odom Jr. as Sam Cooke singing ‘A Change is Gonna Come’ for the first time on national television. It’s a powerful moment where his character fully steps into his activism and it’s a must see.
