Best known for her Oscar- and Emmy-winning roles on-screen, Regina King has been pulling double duty in her professional life for the past decade or so, steadily building up a résumé of over a dozen directing credits, including episodes of “Insecure,” “This Is Us,” and “Scandal.” A huge swath of folks have already seen her handiwork, even if they’re not consciously aware of her career behind the scenes. “One Night in Miami…” marks her feature directorial debut, and what a debut it is: it marks King’s arrival as a filmmaker, and suggests that King’s legacy will expand far beyond her rightfully celebrated work on camera.
Inspired by true events, “One Night in Miami…” takes place on February 25, 1964: the night Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, was named the new World Heavyweight Boxing Champion The film follows Clay (Eli Goree), human rights activist and Black nationalist supporter Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), football star Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), and music sensation Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) as they celebrate the win in a Miami hotel room in a historically Black neighborhood.
“You could move mountains without lifting a finger,” Malcolm X tells his friends. The foursome spend the night discussing — and disagreeing — about the power and responsibility they have as Black public figures. “This movement that we are in is called a struggle because we are fighting for our lives,” Malcolm X emphasizes.
Though it’s set nearly 60 years ago, the drama feels timely. The fight for Black lives continues. The conversations about representation continue. The dialogue is evolving but remains as essential as ever.
Since 2010, 50 performances have been recognized with Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, and only five of them have been from Black men. Denzel Washington accounts for three of those nominations. Films led by a Black protagonist remain rare, and films with multiple Black protagonists rarer still. “One Night in Miami…” is a singular showcase for Black actors, with each of the four leads delivering standout performances.
“One Night in Miami…” is now in theaters and hits Prime Video January 15.
