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Malcolm & Marie
(Netflix)
By Lucas Allen
With a cast of two actors and a small film crew, you can imagine what it was like shooting a movie during last summer’s lockdown. But aside from that, the new Netflix production “Malcolm & Marie” uses the minimalistic approach in telling a story about complications in a loving relationship. The film is written and directed by Sam Levinson, who also wrote and produced the hit HBO series “Euphoria.”
Ambitious young director Malcolm (John David Washington) and his model girlfriend Marie (Zendaya) arrive home after a Hollywood premiere of his latest film. He’s ecstatic as he awaits the critic reviews that could help him be recognized as a serious filmmaker. However, his girlfriend is not in a happy mood. Her experience at the event has her questioning her relationship with the director. Soon enough, she starts to doubt being part of his life once she knows that the main character in Malcolm’s movie was partially based on her and her drug addiction. As the night wears on, the couple argue relentlessly on the nature of their relationship, only to find themselves stuck in a thin line between love and hate. When Marie asks Malcolm why she wasn’t cast in the film, it reaches a point of no return in their bitter partnership.
If you’re a filmmaker and your only option is to make a movie with only a few actors and one location to work with, you’ll find yourself in a slippery slope carefully ascending and descending right into it. This all depends on how your audience will be emotionally involved in the film if they have the patience to sit through the entire runtime. Some will find something to enjoy about it, while others will be turned off by it. So, you can see how certain restrictions have led to this film being made this way.
With all that said, the movie approaches its minimal storytelling with confidence while relying on the commitment of its two leading actors to make the process work. Levinson’s script is full of sharp dialogue that helps to convey each of the characters’ personalities. You can sense how each scene brings some meaning and relevance to what these two people have to say. The only problem is that the constant arguing between them tends to drag in some parts and could’ve been trimmed slightly without losing any momentum. After a while, you wish this couple could’ve gone to bed early and resume their fighting the following morning.
There’s a scene where Malcolm has an extended monologue about some critic’s positive review of his movie that he doesn’t like. He keeps rambling about how important it is he tells his story and compares himself to the likes of William Wyler and Spike Lee. This scene might’ve been written based on Levinson’s own experiences with reviews of his movies, or it was written as a satirical viewpoint on critical analysis on film directors and their visions. Either way, you can sense the character’s ego coming through his speech, especially his delusions of grandeur that’s also part of his personality.
As for Marie, there’s also a layer of emotional trauma she’s been going through during the film because of her past and her current relationship. You can feel her sadness in each of her scenes as well as her stronger personality being brought by the third act. It’s all part of the collaborative effort between Levinson and Zendaya much like their work on “Euphoria.”
As mentioned before, the two actors are at the top of their game, playing their characters within the one location like being on the stage. Washington creates a believable character building up such rage to a boiling point, while Zendaya is surely great to watch as she brings layers to her performance. Despite the twosome’s 12-year age difference, the actors do strike up some surprising good chemistry through their sexually charged scenes.
Although we don’t want to remember anything about 2020, “Malcolm & Marie” proves you can overcome such limitations to create pure drama. Their minimalistic approach becomes one of the more genuinely brilliant films for 2021. If you have a Netflix account, this is another can’t-miss title worth seeking out.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: R (for pervasive language and sexual content)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.5 Stars (Out of Four)
