One Night in Miami: Unfilm Percutant

Signed with Regina King, an African-American actress who is already deeply involved in the fight against racial inequality in the United States One night in Miami Black Lives is the first solid and relevant film to fit the motion of the current.

Taken from a play written by Kemp Powers (who also wrote the script for the film), One night in Miami Describes a fictional encounter between four African-American symbols of the mid-1960s.

We are in Miami, February 25, 1964. Boxer Cassius Clay (future Muhammad Ali) became world champion after winning the fight against Sony Liston. He decides to celebrate his victory in his hotel room with three of his best friends: football player Jim Brown, soul singer Sam Cook and activist Malcolm X.

The mood should be festive, but the conversations turn into heated discussions about the civil rights of African Americans. NFL star Jim Brown is planning to start an acting career, but his skin color prevents him from getting good roles. Cassius Clay is preparing to announce his conversion to Islam with the help of Malcolm X, fearing that his fight for African-American causes will endanger his life and the safety of his family.

Very instructive

Well versed, this first film made by “Oscar winning” actress Regina King as a director must be based on hard-hitting dialogue and performances by actors. But as is often the case with adaptations of plays, the film sometimes turns out to be too talkative to grab the audience’s attention for two hours.

King was still able to show real talent for directing, especially in the way he portrayed the fight between Clay and Liston. Most hopefully, this first attempt behind the camera should allow us to earn a place in the race for the next Oscar.

One night in Miami

★★★1/2

• Image of Regina King
• Available at Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Gory, Aldis Hodge and Leslie Odom Jr. / Amazon Prime