Best Films of 2020
#4 – One Night in Miami…

In a year of strong ensemble casts, none impressed me more than the quartet at the center of Regina King’s One Night in Miami….

King directs a script by Kemp Powers, based on his own play, about an encounter between four legendary Black icons: Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Cassius Clay (Eli Goree), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), and Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.). The four men alternately clash and harmonize about their roles and responsibilities in a society that worships them but would never invite them in for dinner.

It’s hard to pick an MVP among the cast, as each actor fully embodies his role and seizes every opportunity to shine. Odom Jr. and Ben-Adir are given the juiciest parts, but Hodge and Goree are equally sublime.

I found myself agreeing with each man’s perspective as they bounced provocative ideas off of each other, a testament to Powers’ commitment to exploring issues in depth and not putting the “right” words in any one character’s mouth.

While the focus on dialogue and the limited settings make it clear One Night in Miami… started as a play, King does a splendid job staging the action and expanding the world of the movie. An extended opening sequence puts each man’s position in context before they end up together in a Miami motel room. A flashback to a Sam Cooke performance is a highlight, as is the film’s moving ending.

This is the second straight debut film by a woman director in my top five. I hope this is a sign that women filmmakers are receiving opportunities they hadn’t in the past, and standout work like this will be even more common in the future.