New Movie Imagines Historic Night
In 1964, Muhammad Ali (known as Cassius Clay) scored a huge upset victory over heavyweight champ Sonny Liston. Ali was the big underdog in the battle that took place in Miami Beach, Florida. A new Amazon original movie called “One Night in Miami” gives viewers a fictional “What If” scenario with boxing star Clay (Eli Goree), football great Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), legendary singer Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) and human rights activist Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir) all meeting for an after-party in a suite at the Hampton House in Miami.
I watched an advance screening of this film (now streaming on Amazon Prime). The new movie is based on the play by Kemp Powers and is directed by the award-winning Regina King; it is the actress’s first foray in directing. The drama runs 1 hour 54 minutes and showcases powerful performances by the knockout cast. Since it’s debut, there’s been a ton of buzz about “One Night in Miami” and it is expected to receive numerous award nominations.
So what would it have been like on the evening of February 25, 1964 with this powerful quartet of gentlemen gathered together in one room on one legendary night?
While this creative narrative shows the burgeoning superstardom of Ali/Clay, just 22, as he celebrates his historic title win over the brooding Sonny Liston and Clay’s growing loyalty to the Nation of Islam. The four icons are all struggling with their own dilemmas. NFL player Brown expresses his desire to branch out more as an actor and spend less time on the football field, crooner Cooke questions the issue of commercializing his music to the masses, and Malcolm X faces fear and uncertainty as he plans on leaving the Nation of Islam.
The movie features difficult conversations that is echoed by the civil rights movement of that era. Topics of racial injustice, class inequality and double standards are addressed as the four men face the world, face each other and face their own demons during this two-hour retelling.
“One Night in Miami” is poignant, bittersweet, thought-provoking, searing and at-times jarring as many of the ’60s conflicts still haunt us today.
What if this famous foursome really had gotten together that after the fight? This fictional account lets you be that perennial fly-on-the-wall as you get to witness what could have happened.
Definitely worth the watch!