He did what virtually no-one – apart from the buoyantly boastful Ali himself – imagined possible, whether that meant becoming the heavyweight champion of the world at the age of 22, or soon after publicly converting to the separatist Nation of Islam.
asserted
that → do → Islam
To make a television series about him is to wrestle with countless existing books and documentaries, plus Michael Mann’s exemplary 2001 biopic Ali, with Will Smith in the title role.
asserted
make → make → role
Muhammad Ali, who passed away in 2016 at the age of 74, remains an industry.
asserted
who → pass → 74
The easiest way to frame his life is headlines and triumphs, and both are certainly present in The Greatest, an eight-part limited series that spans the years 1960 to 1964.
asserted
that → frame → 1964
But even with a time-frame that has obvious markers – it begins with 18-year-old Cassius Clay Jr, Ali’s birth name, returning from the Rome Olympics with a gold medal, and ends with him winning the heavyweight belt in Miami – the show’s defining quality is how thoughtful it is.
asserted
it → have → Miami
Created by Ben Watkins (Cross), in official collaboration with Ali’s estate, The Greatest is not afraid to dig into the circumstances and people that shaped Cassius.
asserted
that → create → Cassius
Some parts of his life are partitioned – this is a chaste young man – but as played by Jaalen Best, this protagonist is at the centre of a complex, interlocking web that includes family tension, the discriminatory realities of a racially segregated America and spiritual tumult.
asserted
that → partition → America
Winning comes easily in the boxing ring, but not so much outside it.
asserted
Winning → come → it
The storytelling has the time for small, telling details: the glances of strangers, favourite foods and nicknames.
asserted
storytelling → have → strangers
Cassius is a mamma’s boy, dedicated to his loving mother Odessa (Dana Gourrier).
asserted
Cassius → dedicate → mother
She calls him “G”, he calls her “Bird”, and both of them navigate a demanding patriarch, Cassius “Cash” Clay (Omari Hardwicke).
asserted
both → call → patriarch
Cash is an obvious figure for Cassius to rebel against, but the first episode takes care to show the systemic flaws that warped an aspiring artist into a simmering, often bitter, sign painter.
asserted
that → rebel → painter
Even with Cassius as the compelling focus, underpinned by a fine performance by Best as a young man who takes strength from his certainty, The Greatest has time for its many surrounding characters.
asserted
Greatest → underpin → characters
Cassius’s boxing nemesis, the hulking Sonny Liston (Amin Joseph), whom he beats in Miami, is first seen winning an off-the-books fight in prison.
asserted
he → beat → prison
But this Liston, while remaining a brutal puncher, is softly spoken and privately vulnerable.
asserted
Liston → remain → ?
Much of an episode is dedicated to the painful compromises Liston had to make.
asserted
Liston → dedicate → compromises
Liston hears the slurs of a white media that talks down to African-American subjects.
asserted
that → hear → subjects
These expectations entangle Cassius as well, especially when his rise through the ranks of contenders is paralleled by his conversion from Christian to Muslim.
asserted
rise → entangle → Muslim
The Greatest understands that it is about a heroic American, but part of that mantle is about defying American convention and the ever-present racial discrimination.
asserted
part → understand → convention
As the show unfolds the training montages with coach Angelo Dundee (Giovanni Ribisi) are matched by conversations about faith and expectation with Nation of Islam lieutenant Malcolm X (Michael Ealy).
asserted
montages → unfold → X
Everyone wants a piece of Cassius, albeit for vastly different reasons.
asserted
Everyone → want → reasons
Cassius is not blind to this, but believes that – as ever – he can transcend any limitations.
asserted
he → believe → limitations
That is a powerful bind, and it’s the kind of biographical complexity The Greatest is thankfully capable of alongside those headlines and triumphs.
asserted
Greatest → ’ → headlines
This impressive limited series deserves a rare accolade: make a second season.
asserted
series → limit → season
The Greatest streams on Amazon Prime Video from November 4.
asserted
Greatest → stream → November
We’ve got you.
asserted
We → get → you
Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.
asserted
Watchlist → get → ?
- Big Brother: I tried out for reality TV.
asserted
I → try → TV
It did not go well.
asserted
It → go → ?
The popular comedian admits he’s useless, but he’d like you to hire him for his new show Unskilled Adult.
asserted
you → admit → show
- After Bluey: Here’s what the co-creator’s of the world’s most-watched show did next.
asserted
creator → ’ → show
- A field guide to Nathan Fielder: What to watch while you wait for You Can See Everything, “the movie of the year”.
asserted
You → watch → year
- Watch (below): Deputy TV editor Meg Watson recommends Nocturne, a serial killer thriller starring Adolescence’s Stephen Graham.
asserted
Watson → watch → Graham
The Aporia
