REVIEW: Malcom & Marie Deserved Way Better Than What They Got
Created in six days and shot secretly in quarantine during the beginning months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Malcom & Marie is a story all its own, without a pandemic focus. The mind behind Euphoria, Sam Levinson, aims to discuss the difficulties of being in a relationship during one tension-filled evening.
The premise of the film is simple enough: Malcom and Marie, a couple, come home after Malcom’s film premiere and fall into an argument because Marie is upset Malcom did not thank her in his speech. The fights escalate from there, with both taking cheap shots at one another while also trying to dissect what is wrong with the relationship.
What could have been a challenging, illuminating look into a couple’s life results in being simply exhausting. The arguments between the two are drawn out, with one another constantly tossing gasoline on an already roaring fire. When it seems as though the fire is beginning to die down, Malcolm or Marie toss in a bit more kindling. It’s honestly a struggle to absorb watching this toxic relationship. There are points where Malcom and Marie seem to be in a healthy and happy relationship, but those are quickly shoved to the side to focus on the verbal abuse they hurl at one another from down the hallway or in their bedroom.
However, the film also seems to have a bit of Levinson’s real life added in making one wonder the direction he was looking to take. Malcom dedicates a whole monologue to berating a female critic from the L.A. Times. He vents about how she doesn’t understand his craft even though she gave his film a positive review. And yet, that is not good enough for Malcom. Is it because she gave him a previously bad review from another one of his films and Malcolm now feels personally attacked or is it something more? Levinson seems to spend a decent amount of time on this one critic that it can’t help but feel unnecessarily personal for the director. It is almost as though he is using Malcom to lecture the audience on why this critic was wrong in giving him this one bad review. The end result is again, exhausting.
The cinematography created by fellow Euphoria team member, Marcell Rév, though is stunning. The black and white tones allow for the audience to easily center on the two characters. There are no silly distractions, which allows for what could’ve been minor situations to escalate.
John David Washington is tasked with the meatier of the two roles, with monologues and solo shots galore, but Zendaya’s composure and lackadaisical demeanor brings a sense of maturity to Marie. However, Zendaya and Washington are more talented than this script deserves. The two act worlds around this script and yet cannot save this film.
Malcom & Marie debuts on Netflix on February 5. Even though Zendaya and John David Washington give A+ performances, the story is over-taxing and will leave you wondering how you will get those minutes back.
Grade: C-