One Night In Miami (2020)

Set in Miami in February 1964, after the victory of Cassius Clay (Eli Goree) over Sonny Liston (Aaron D. Alexander). In a motel room, Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), football hero turned actor Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) and singer Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) get together with Clay for a celebration. Based on the play by Kemp Powers (who adapted his play for the screen) and directed by Oscar winning actress Regina King. Powers' play had only six characters and the entire play took place in the motel room but he opens the movie up by adding other minor characters and scenes outside the motel room that were not in the play. These were the weakest parts of the film. The film opens with some unnecessary exposition but only catches fire when it gets to the motel room and the actors are free to expound on the struggles of the African American experience of that time and the clash of personalities and diverse views. It's a piece of fiction, a theatrical conceit that never happened but it makes for a riveting piece of cinema even if its proscenium roots are obvious. Leslie Odom Jr. has gotten all the awards attention but the ensemble acting is flawless and Ben-Adir and Hodges are every bit as good. King's direction is fine but it's the writing that carries the movie and the actors who inhabit it. With Lance Reddick, Joaquina Kalukango and Beau Bridges.