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One Night in Miami... (2020)'s comments
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Comments 1 - 6 of 6
BadFluffy
Unlike Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, the script here manages to hit all the highs of the play without feeling too stagey and stiff. Great performances all around and an outstanding debut for Regina King who directs with the same sensitivity she acts, and who adds to the play, most notably with the introduction of each character before their night at the motel, without feeling heavy handed or hammy.frankqb
As powerful as one of Muhammad Ali’s punches with the timeless urgency of Sam Cooke’s music, One Night in Miami is a fantastic imagining of four African-American champions at their peak. The dialogue is crisp, the staging is energetic and the message is so powerful it’s hard to resist. All four actors could see nominations, and the film is a strong contender for Best Picture. Wow. I loved this film. Regina King knocked it out of the park — and then some.5 stars
baraka92
This year, Netflix and Amazon have each an Oscar contender that's based on a play; has a large black cast that includes a great portrayal of a music legend; deals with racism, God and religion; and it's underwhelming. But if I had to choose, I'd stick to Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Shorter and with better acting overall.Regina King's direction was bland. It might not have been her decision, but the second some generic middle eastern music played while Cassius and Malcolm were praying, I knew something was wrong. The only moments that felt "alive" were the first minutes, when we see these characters outside of a freaking hotel room where they would end up spending most of the runtime. I know it's hard to make a movie that takes place inside a closed space look cinematic but it's possible. Dial M for Murder is one of the best examples.
Another problem is that the movie was predictable. There was no way it was going to end with anything but A Change is Gonna Come, and that made me think of a better movie: Malcolm X. It's impossible to watch an actor play him and not think of Denzel (I firmly believe his performance is one of the best of all time). Kingsley Ben-Adir tried his best but... just no. And like chunkylefunga said (although for a different reason), a lot of the time it felt irrelevant that these actors were supposed to be the real guys because they seemed more like generic athlete, generic singer and generic leader. Leslie Odom Jr. as Sam Cooke was the best part. Aside from him, I don't think there's much to recommend. Watch Spike's Malcolm X and search for documentaries or real footage about the other guys.
I know the things they talk about here are important, but there are no insights that we haven't gotten from more interesting places.
Loudmouf
I liked this one. I cant understand why it has 18+ age limit though. Can anybody explain?Siskoid
Based on the play, One Night in Miami creates a fictional conversation between Cassius Clay, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown the night of Cassius' world championship win and eve of his conversion to Islam. He's the pretext, as the real core of this examination of the responsibility that comes bundled with celebrity - especially in a minority context - is really X and Cooke calling each other out on their shit (the second act is the best part). It's great to see Leslie Odom Jr. post-Hamilton, and he does do all his own singing. Brown is really a supporting player in this drama, more on edge than anyone, but keeping it in and doing a lot of truth telling; Aldis Hodge probably gives the most subtle performance here (but I can be expected to sing his praises, as I've loved his work since Leverage). Eli Goree does a good Clay, while Kingsley Ben-Adir can never really escape Denzel Washington's long shadow as X, but is nevertheless effective. Whether you look at the film as an exploration of what it means to be a successful black person in 1960s America (not all that far from 2020s America, unfortunately), or just as a drama about friends who are comfortable enough to confront each other's values, One Night in Miami delivers.chunkylefunga
The trouble with this movie, apart from it all being hypothetical conversations is that the characters weren't really acting like themselves.What we see is a Hollywood scrubbed up version on the characters.
Malcolm X was a racist. There's no two ways about it. Don't show him as a 'I didn't say that' but as the flawed individual that he was.
It's ok to show him as an extremist, as he was a product of him time.
Cassius Clay was was known for shouting racial abuse at his opponents when fighting them, just show that.
Eli Goree is definitely too old to play a 22 year and didn't capture the innocence of youth.
The film just sugar coated the characters too much.
I did enjoy some of the conversations and how some boundaries were pushed. I just didn't like that the characters didn't rely reflect how they would have been behind closed doors.