One Night in Miami

I think there is some fantastic acting in this. Especially Kingsley Ben-Adir and Leslie Odom Jr. Now, this also marks Regina King's directorial debut. I dont think she did a bad job, but I dont think she did the best job of transforming this medium. The movie is based on a play and let me tell you, it very often feels like you're watching a play and not a movie.

This is very much an actor's film. You'll watch and enjoy for the performances. But I didnt find anything else about the film stood out to me in any way.

If you've ever read Jean-Paul Sartre's Huit clos/No Exit, this movie will look very familiar. It's the story of four men - four very famous men - who spend an evening in a motel room after one of them, Cassius Clay (soon to become Mohammed Ali), defeats Sonny Listen for the World Heavyweight Championship. As in Sartre's play, they rehash each other's past lives, rip each other and themselves apart, etc. The "only" difference is that, in order to turn the original play on which this is based into a movie, about half an hour of extraneous material is added at the beginning before the four get to the motel room.

The acting here is all first rate. I can't tell you how close the actors come to impersonating the originals, but that's irrelevant, because this is still basically a play "based on historical characters" and not a pseudo-documentary. (The meeting of the four never actually took place.) It is a discussion of each Black man's obligation to participate in some way in the Civil Rights movement delivered in dialogue form, as Plato did with his Dialogues over 2,000 years ago.

There are times when the discussions don't sound "natural" - whatever that means. (Almost none of No Exit sounds natural, except perhaps for a convention of philosophers.) How much that bothers you will vary with your tolerance for philosophy staged in theatrical form. My recommendation would be to skip the first 20 minutes or so of the movie and just get down to the motel scene.

If you have read a biography of Malcolm X, or seen Spike Lee's movie about him, certain parts of this movie dealing with him will be clearer, in particular his relationship with the Nation of Islam. The rest is pretty self-explanatory.

What do 4 African American community icons talk about in a hotel room in Miami?

It's a fictional meeting, yes, but the content discussed could not be more real.

The film focuses on civil rights and the increasingly influential role of African Americans in American society, whether in sport, music, politics or society in general.

The actors are perfect for the roles they play, giving essential authenticity to the story, and not just that each character was the raw reflection of the areas in which they are inserted.

The discussions / talks are captivating and well-paced, without any boring moments.

Regina King really knew how to make this film, without too much drama or too much "demonization" of the white man, and giving to the audience a truth that many still try to hide nowadays.

Powerful film. Regina King did such a great job at directing and the film looked beautiful. The subject matter was incredibly interesting and couldn't have come at a better time.

Set against the 1960s and Ali's victory, four influential Black men meet in a motel room and talk about the role of civil rights, their responsibility of influence, how to fight, how to win, what does power mean. How all four men wielded their power different and the 'right way'

The conversation between Sam and 'Clay' in the car got me. The conversation of power to exist without constraint. Got me. 65 years and what these men dream haven't been fully realized.

'We aren't weapons' And the gut punch on the porch took my breath And Odon's voice

7.5 It was limited as a film as it was play first and seemed like Ma Rainey to have existed best like that. Still excellent but doesn't transfer seemlessly.