Malcolm & Marie sees Euphoria's Sam Levinson and Zendaya team up once again. But should they have? Our Screen Co-Editor thinks not...
Director: Sam Levinson
Starring: John David Washington, Zendaya
Running time: 106 minutes
When the trailer for Malcolm & Marie first dropped online, it was met with boundless hype and anticipation. Film fans were promised a look at two of Hollywood’s most exciting talents going head-to-head in a passionate, fiery, artistic endeavour that could see Netflix release another original that was, well, exactly that - original. Yet while there is fire, and passion, and plenty of artistic pretension, Malcolm & Marie feels like something of a missed opportunity, a failed attempt to create a story and characters that will stand the test of cinematic time.
Following - you guessed it - Malcolm (John David Washington) and Marie (Zendaya) as they arrive home from a premiere for a film the former directed, the movie spends the entirety of its runtime delving into an argument between the couple which ebbs and flows, spikes and calms with painfully realistic unpredictability.
Writer-director Sam Levinson is brave in his attempts to subvert usual romantic tropes, instead opting to shine a light on the imperfections and struggles that love and relationships can provide. This gives the leading duo the chance to show off their immense abilities, both giving their all to bring their characters and their connection to life.
One of the biggest appeals of this movie is the exciting talent of its two-person cast, and neither disappoint. Watching this powerful pair go toe-to-toe is encapsulating, with both pushing the other to new levels and new heights with each tense, heated scene. In such a dialogue-heavy story, the performance of those on screen is of the utmost importance - and luckily for Malcolm & Marie, Washington and Zendaya live up to the challenge.
However, while the script undoubtedly enables its cast to thrive, the relationship that develops on screen fails to match the intoxicating talent of those trying to sell it. Although Levinson deserves praise for refusing to sugarcoat romance, his writing ultimately creates a dynamic between the titular duo that is, quite simply, unhealthy, and near impossible to get behind.
Malcolm & Marie ain’t as great as it thinks it is
All relationships have their difficulties, and all couples have their fights, but what unravels between their pair becomes so terrifyingly toxic that the audience would feel almost guilty for wanting them to work things out. Whether it is Malcolm telling Marie he’d “snap you like a twig”, or Marie pretending to be unhinged with a giant knife in her hand, the film often strays beyond showcasing a strained connection to exhibiting something more sinister entirely - leaving the viewer wishing for the relationship’s demise for both the characters’ sakes.
Levinson’s script is also, at times, unbearably pompous, showing a tendency to machine gun the audience with pretentious preachings about artistic struggle. Genuinely powerful messages on the difficulties of being a Black filmmaker in Hollywood are drowned out by five-minute-long inaccessible rants about what it means to make a movie. In this way, Malcolm & Marie shows similarities to last year's I’m Thinking of Ending Things, the dialogue often feeling more like a monologue from the director as they use their characters as a vehicle for tedious tirades of drivel.
That said, this is beautifully delivered with some stunning cinematography and inventive camerawork. Through his intimate approach, Levinson makes the audience feel a real part of the arguments of those on screen. Each outburst of anger and each tear of remorse is fully experienced by the viewer, adding to the anxiety and unease as these characters attempt to hash things out in their uniquely detrimental manner.
Ultimately, though, for all its extensive dialogue and passionate performances from the leading duo, Malcolm & Marie feels pretty empty. There are certainly impressive elements - the immeasurable talent of Zendaya and Washington chief among them - but these are drowned out by a pretentious script and a toxic dynamic between the titular couple. This review may trigger Malcolm to launch a torrent of abuse my way, as he does to one poor fictional critic in the film, but what’s said has been said. Malcolm & Marie ain’t as great as it thinks it is.
Did you know? This is one of the first films to be written, directed, and completed during the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States.
Malcolm & Marie is now available on Netflix
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