One Night in Miami: Telling a story through suits

by Cláudio Alves

Limitations aren't always the enemy of style or art. Tight parameters can be the fertile ground from which creativity grows and thrives. In the world of costume design, the dynamic between restraint and imagination is especially obvious when one needs to dress men in formal attire. Since the early 19th century, western men's fashion has solidified around a masculine uniform with little in the ways of variation – the suit. To find ways to make that fashion standard into a storytelling tool, one must excel at finding the little details that make all the difference. Recently, Regina King's One Night in Miami is a good example of this brand of costuming excellence…

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Interview: Kingsley Ben-Adir on playing Malcolm X in "One Night in Miami"

by Murtada Elfadl

Kingsley Ben-Adir is having a breakthrough year. In fact that’s the award he won at the Gothams on the same day I talked to him over zoom. He acknowledges that his performance in Regina King’s One Night in Miami is one that brought him more attention than any previous role. You may remember him as Zoë Kravitz’s ex- boyfriend in the short-lived Hulu series High Fidelity or from the Netflix series The OA. But it’s his performance as Malcolm X that’s being talked about this season for a possible best actor nomination at the Oscars.

One Night in Miami, adapted by Kemp Powers from his play, imagines a historic night in which four Black icons Cassius Clay (Eli Goree) before he changed his name to Muhammed Ali, Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.),  Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) and Malcom X (Ben-Adir), come together in a Miami motel room in 1964 and debate their roles as leaders and celebrities at that moment in the Civil Rights Movement. Malcolm X is the one who set up the meeting and the one who has an agenda that becomes apparent as the night goes on. He’s at the center of the film giving Ben-Adir a marvelous opportunity to showcase his talent.

[The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.]

Murtada Elfadl: This film lives and dies by the interplay between the four actors. Can you talk about your relationship on set with Aldis, Leslie and Eli? There is passion to the performances and I think you're feeding off of each other. 

KINGSLEY BEN-ADIR: I think Regina very carefully hand-picked each of us. I chemistry tested with Leslie before I was cast...

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Review: One Night in Miami

by Matt St Clair

Regina King’s directorial debut One Night in Miami is a wonderful departure from the traditional biopic formula. Instead of focusing on key events from the lives of the famous, One Night in Miami  gives us a fictionalized, night-long conversation four iconic men might have been having at that exact moment in history. The titular night is February 25th, 1964, just after Cassius Clay’s boxing match with Sonny Liston and just before the famous athlete changed his name to Muhammad Ali.   

Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Cassius Clay (Eli Goree), musician Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), and former NFL player Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) gather together in a motel room to discuss the weight they carry as celebrities to help create social change through the Civil Rights Movement. Thanks to the lead actors, along with genius writing by Kemp Powers who adapted his own  play for the screen, we’re able to get a glimpse of the real people behind the iconic personas...

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'Promising News in Miami'

by Nathaniel R

Good news for those still stuck at home, which is most of us. Both the provocative Carey Mulligan vehicle Promising Young Woman and the thoughtful Tom Hanks western News of the World are arriving On Demand starting Friday, January 15th (a week from tomorrow!). Coincidentally that's also Regina King's birthday and the day her directorial debut, One Night in Miami, begins streaming on Amazon Prime. It's like Regina is giving us a gift for her birthday. Generous!

So circle that date on your calendar. You'll be able to have a delicious Best Picture hopeful triple feature weekend. Your mileage will of course vary on whether each of these three are worthy of a "Best" stamp but at the very least they're all interesting and handsomely made movies and as a triple feature they offer a ton of variety in tone and theme and acting styles.

Which are you most eager to see? 

Another AFI Wrap: I Carry You With Me, One Night in Miami, etc.

by Christopher James

The gay romantic drama "I Carry You With Me"

AFI Fest has always been one of my favorite times of the year. As an LA-based critic, it’s my chance to catch up on all the big movies that premiered at Venice, TIFF, NYFF and Telluride. Some of my personal favorite memories from attending the festival the last five years include watching Roma at the legendary Egyptian Theater and attending an afterparty for Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool with Annette Bening and Jamie Bell in attendance. With the pandemic, a lot of the pomp and circumstance has been taken out of the film festival. That absence has been replaced by greater accessibility to some of the great films chosen for the festival. No more rushing across Hollywood Boulevard to get in line for a third film in a day. All the bingeing can be done from the comfort of my couch. Many film festivals have found a positive way to adapt to the pandemic.

Chris’ 'Jury-of-One' Top Five AFI Fest 2020 Films...

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