Based on Kemp Powers’s 2013 stage play, One Night in Miami frames itself like a theater production modified for the camera. That’s not a criticism, merely an observation. Yet much of its strengths stem from exactly that: Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown talking and arguing in a Miami hotel room about their conflicting philosophies and the future of the civil rights movement. A character study grounded in a quartet of stellar performances, it provides the right mix of bravado and vulnerability to make this setup feel like so much more.

As the directorial debut of actress Regina King (Watchmen), One Night in Miami gathers its characters together like something out of The Avengers. Ali—then 22 years old and going by the name of Cassius Clay (Eli Goree)—has just won his first 1964 boxing match with Sonny Liston, launching his career as the self-proclaimed “greatest” heavyweight champion of all time. With Clay set to later pledge himself to the Nation of Islam, he’s joined at the match by civil rights icon Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), whose support for his friend’s conversion masks a growing paranoia over his decision to leave the Nation due to disillusionment with its leadership. Also with them are NFL player Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) and soul singer Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.), the latter coming off of a rather disastrous night at the Copacabana. Mind you, this gathering did happen in real life, but what we view is merely an assumption of what they discussed in “the room where it happened,” to quote Odom’s line from Hamilton.

The film’s early scenes provide a few hints at these character’s personal struggles, all involving racism in their respective professions. After Clay claims his title, the four meet up for a small gathering to celebrate the achievement, which starts out joyous but slowly becomes heated as new details about their future are revealed, from Cooke and Brown’s concerns over Clay’s future to Brown acting sheepishly about his first Hollywood acting role. It’s a mesh of the old guard and new blood contemplating their legacies, not just in the context of pre-Vietnam 1960s but of the emerging Black Power movement.

Arguably the most ideologically heated debate occurs between Malcolm and Cooke over the latter’s willingness to aim his music at white audiences and clubs. Here they have different outlooks on the most beneficial way to help their community. Cooke points out all the jobs and royalty checks his recording business has produced, granting him a level of financial independence none of his colleagues can attest to. Malcolm counters with how the lyrics of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” speak more about the times than anything Cooke has written. It’s harsh, but Malcolm isn’t saying this from a place of antagonism. Instead he implores Cooke to reach his full potential rather than chase after an audience too content with the current system to view any of them as true equals.

King’s direction bestows both a level of grandiosity and the casualness of a buddy film into what’s essentially an extended argumentative sequence, all to great effect. Each actor has his moment to shine, from Goree matching Clay’s energetic cockiness to Odom bringing Cooke’s powerful vocals to life. Yet it’s Ben-Adir who truly stands out, imbuing Malcolm X with a tragic vulnerability stemming from the recognition that his future actions will put a bigger target on the activist’s head. Even among friends, Malcolm is constantly looking over his shoulder, uncertain as to whether the two white men following him are FBI agents or if his Nation bodyguard (Lance Reddick) has bugged the hotel room. Ben-Adir portrays Malcom as someone who knows his time is coming, and all he can do now is demand the others to take this revolution seriously while there’s still time left.

Even if you know the fates of these historical legends, One Night in Miami’s dialogue is guaranteed to keep you invested. Beyond the novelty of seeing the quartet conversing together, this story successfully provides more insightful characterization in a single room than most films with bigger budgets and scope usually accomplish with one protagonist, let alone four. It’s theatrical in the best way possible, a melodramatic glimpse into not only what these men saw in their futures but also the seeds of what they would mean to the world for decades to come.