Movie reviews: One Night in Miami — when Ali met X in 1960s America

One Night in Miami Regina King’s debut feature imagines what happened when four African American icons met up in Florida in 1964, writes Paul Whitington

One of the first plays I saw in a theatre was Tom Stoppard’s Travesties. A giddy, verbose affair, it imagined a meeting between James Joyce, Lenin and the Dadaist poet Tristan Tzara in

Zurich, in 1916.

The encounter went about as well as you might expect: Joyce was a bit of a laugh, but Lenin was no fun at all. Regina King’s directorial debut One Night in Miami attempts a similar manoeuvre, although her scenario has more basis in fact.

It’s set in Miami Beach on February 24, 1964, a momentous night for Muhammad Ali, who became heavyweight champion of the world at just 22 after a shock win over Sonny Liston. At that point Ali was still Cassius Clay (played here by Eli Goree), a cocky young man from Louisville who must have felt he now had the world at his feet. But as an African-American, he knew that the issues of race and civil rights could not be avoided.

So among the close group of friends who meet him at his motel room after the fight is Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), the charismatic activist and Nation of Islam spokesman who has been slowly guiding Clay towards the Muslim faith. They’re joined by singer Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr) and legendary American Football running back Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge).

Everyone is in high spirits, especially Cassius, who at one point looks admiringly in the mirror and exclaims, “why am I so damn pretty!”. But before long, their differing views on black activism cause simmering tensions to explode.

Among Malcolm X’s beliefs is the idea that black people should live separately and seize their own destinies — through violence if necessary. He’s quick to point the finger at anyone tending towards the mannerisms of an Uncle Tom. Sam Cooke is in his sights.

The king of soul has had a huge influence on popular culture, and as the writer and producer of his own hit songs ought to represent a shining example of a successful African American entrepreneur. But Malcolm doesn’t think he’s black enough, and during a pivotal scene berates Sam for writing vapid songs that say nothing about the ‘cause’.

Cassius, meanwhile, for all his bluster, seems oddly persuadable, and torn between his admiration for Malcolm and his affection for Sam and Jim. And Malcolm, like Lenin, is a bit of a party pooper: when Cassius and Sam sneak out for a sly drink, the boxer mutters, “being a Muslim sounded like a much better idea before tonight”. What Cassius doesn’t know is that Malcolm is having problems of his own with the Nation of Islam, and is about to sever his ties with the crafty, spider-like Louis Farrakhan and strike out on his own.

And Jim Brown is an interesting character, a huge sporting icon who has quietly coped with casual racism all his life. Early in the film he goes back to the island off Georgia where he was raised and is made a fuss of by the local white grandee, who offers him lemonade on the porch. But when Jim offers help moving a sofa inside, the man says “now Jim you know we don’t allow n***ers in the house”.

This is the world all four men have to live in, and the truth is they’ve all found different ways of fighting for their people’s rights.

Apparently Clay, Brown, Cooke and Malcolm X really did meet up on the night Cassius defeated Liston — they went for ice cream, but no one knows anything more than that. Writer Kemp Powers was intrigued by the possibilities of that encounter, and this film is based on his play. The issues it raises could hardly be more timely, sadly, and Regina King has said that her actors’ performances were intensified by the race riots of last summer.

She handles her story well, and if One Night in Miami struggles at times to rise above its stage origins, the performances of her young cast anchor the drama in reality: Hodge is particularly good as Jim, the most reasonable and pragmatic of the group.

Within a year of this meeting two of them (Malcolm X, Sam Cooke) would be shot dead, and black America would be plunged into turmoil. It would be nice to say that things have improved since then — but they haven’t.

Apparently Clay, Brown, Cooke and Malcolm X really did meet up — they went for ice cream, but no one knows any more than that