Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight
What you don’t know about history often makes great fare for movie subjects. In the case of Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight it’s even more apt because what happens to Ali in this story seems even more pertinent in view of society today. Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight, directed by Stephen Frears, debuts only on HBO Saturday night, October 5, and runs throughout the month.
This boxing match actually takes place in the halls of the Supreme Court. Ali had been stripped of his world heavyweight title in 1967 when he refused to be drafted at the height of the Vietnam War because of religious convictions. To paraphrase Ali: “I’m not traveling 1000 miles to kill some man that never called me a nigger.”
Over the next four years Ali was free on bail while the case rose and fell in the judicial system. Clay a.k.a. Ali vs. The United States was the second time the case came to the Supreme Court. Frears lays out his story by concentrating on the then nine justices and their chamber aides. Ali is only seen in news clips and footage from the era, and what a brilliant move that is since an actor playing Ali would’ve been more distracting. The clips allow the audience to fully immerse themselves in Ali the man, the performer (Since he couldn’t fight Ali did things like perform in plays.), the myth.
Various justices are played by Frank Langella (Chief Justice Burger), Danny Glover (Justice Marshall), Christopher Plummer (Justice Harlan), Barry Levinson (Justice Stewart), and a few others (Harris Yulin, Ed Begley, Jr.) rounding out what is quite an ensemble cast. Glover in particular has some choice lines when he recuses himself from one case because he hates a peripheral figure.
If there’s a central character it’s Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter himself) as a new aide to Plummer’s Justice Harlan who sort of represents the conscious spine of the story. Walker literally walks in late on his first day on the job after his car breaks down. Once in his new office he realizes that most of his mates are frat boy types completely opposed to his ideology. As the drama plays out we observe Walker and his boss Plummer engaged in a heated debate regarding the Ali issue.
Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight unwinds in procedural mode for the greater part of its running time. It’s a rare film that can capture the hearts and minds of both a judicial minded audience and the regular movie fan. No matter how many times you’ve been in awe of their acting prowess Langella and Plummer still manage to blow the viewer away with their characterizations.
— Michael Bergeron
