Best Supporting Actor 2020: Leslie Odom Jr. in One Night in Miami

Leslie Odom Jr. received his first acting Oscar nomination for portraying Sam Cooke in One Night in Miami.

One Night in Miami is a good film that depicts the meeting of four iconic African Americans, fittingly, one night in Miami after, then, Cassius Clay becomes boxing heavyweight champion of the world. 

Leslie Odom Jr., the singer songwriter fittingly portrays singer songwriter Sam Cooke. Odom having an accidental banner year, by the early release of the filmed stage version of his breakout stage role as Aaron Burr in Hamilton. This allowing a bit of stretch of his range by playing a far more recent figure, even if the role does make natural use of his golden pipes in the role Cooke. I'll get more into this, but this is ideal casting due to that. While Odom doesn't try to replicate Cooke's exact vocal style, he isn't completely dissimilar to begin with, which is a great asset for the film to have at its disposal, though more on this later. The film opens as we see each of the 4 icons dealing with their lives with particular problems in their lives before that night. We find Cooke as he flops at the Copacabana. We get to see though Odom walk into the role with the right confidence. This as we see him waiting with baited breath, but also a confident sense of frustration. This as Odom brings the right power of personality even as he lashes against his manager, suggesting Cooke's strength within controlling his own industry. In his short, unsuccessful performance, due to a hostile crowd, Odom brings on the showman effectively albeit briefly. This sort of juxtaposition something that Odom brings naturally and we will see more of as the story unfolds. 

The story reveals itself as we see the four iconic men meetup after Clay, soon to be Muhammad Ali, wins the championship, leading to him, Odom's Cooke, Aldis Hodge's Jim Brown and Kingsley Ben-Adir's Malcolm X meeting up in a hotel room as fashioned by the latter. Even in the way the men arrive we get a sense of Cooke, who comes early through his fast sports car, and treats Malcolm's humorless security with a jovial kind of indifference. Odom's performance delivers on being the super star within Sam Cooke. This is as he brims with the right charisma that even more so shows a guy just high on life. Cooke captures a carefree attitude in the public with this ease of self. Odom carries, fittingly, a smile more attitude as a man who seems to coasting on life at this point. A sincere ease in his manner, which is notably different from Malcolm X who is weighed upon by both his sense of purpose and his impending break from the nation of Islam. Meanwhile Ali and Brown are somewhere in-between. This is kind of where the film develops itself into to examine the men as successful African Americans in America in the 60's. This as largely a conflict then to the most different of the two in the "stiff" Malcolm against the easygoing Sam. Now only lightly at first, where Odom naturally modulates his performance in the company of his friends, downplaying the overt charisma just a bit, but still carrying the same essential essence of a more carefree soul. 

This break between the two is seemingly minor at first, or at least minor in nature. This as we see Malcolm trying to keep the men from vices, while Sam carries hidden alcohol in his guitar case. This develops to more though as the men come to represent two different approaches to a potentially mutual cause. Now the film very much takes this as a Two Popes approach, where for purposes of drama it simplifies the conflict a bit to make it especially direct. This as Sam comes to represent the man working within the establishment for success while Malcolm wants to directly attack it, meanwhile Ali is a point of contention in this fight, and Brown almost stays as this referee throughout. Odom is good though in presenting Cooke when attacked by Malcolm. There's a nice mix of emotions that we see. When really pleading his own case, which is through making his own label he's been bringing opportunity and cash to his brethren he is making a difference even within the system. Odom is good in that there is a definite defensive quality in his delivery of these words, but there's a bit more. There is a sense of persistence and even drive within the man. Odom captures a sense of conviction in one's self in each claim, and even a distinct pride and joy in speaking these successes. Odom grants a seriousness within Sam in these moments as much a businessman as an entertainer. 

Malcolm continues to press Sam, particularly on his lack of songs with cultural substance or importance. Again Odom presents effectively the basic annoyance and eventual overt disdain for Malcolm in these moments. Odom balances it just right though in showing a sense of understandable defense, but also a honest nerve being hit in many of Malcolm's words. Eventually the two form a bit of a truce by Malcolm recalling the first performance he saw of Sam's. A nice moment though in just their interactions that is done well by both actors muting it a bit actually. There's a sense of genuine camaraderie in their glances and just an earnest bit of warm nostalgia for Sam's earlier success. This as we see Odom's two musical performances they kind of close out the film. The first is the remembrance of a time where Sam was sabotaged well trying to perform. Odom is wonderful in the scene in showing the showman in every respect. This in his manner that is distinctly Sam Cooke, with the particularly expressive movements that never feel forced or over the top, rather just a natural part of his performance style. In this though Odom delivers that full fledged charisma in basically wielding the crowd, and making a convincing moment as he gets the crowd to act as his own percussion. The second though is Sam doing what Malcolm challenged him on which is in his performance of his powerful ballad "A Change is Gonna Come". This connecting the two, as the men would not see the change, both dying violently within months of one another. In this scene though Odom is great in showing the sort of lighter performer slowly losing itself towards a genuine just soulful turn by the end of the song. A striking ending to his work, that very much shows why Odom was the right choice for this part. Of course, even beyond on the singing, this is a very strong performance by Leslie Odom Jr. that delivers beyond just being ideal casting.