REVIEW: ‘Malcolm & Marie’ is devoid of meaning but not of soul
As someone who avoids conflicts at all costs, “Malcolm & Marie” is my worst nightmare. Not only did it give me crippling secondhand anxiety, it reminded me of why I hate men: performative bullshit.
I know those are strong words; the movie is not complete and utter garbage. The actors, Zendaya and John David Washington, had me captivated for sporadic periods of time throughout the film.
“Malcolm & Marie,” an independent romantic drama shot during the pandemic, is written and directed by Sam Levinson. Zendaya, legendary Generation Z idol, held her own as the wild and chaotic Marie. Washington, who plays Marie’s counterpart Malcolm, started off endearing and turned into a babel of egotistical mania.
The visuals are stunning but flashy. Marie is a captivating, nasty and strong character. Washington plays Malcolm as an asshole, which he is, and breathes life into something halfway polished. Ultimately, he is dusty and difficult.
During the film, I came to the conclusion that Zendaya is a great performer because of her ability to create on-screen chemistry. Though the characters were flawed on a screenwriting level, Washington and Zendaya gave them more life than the movie was worth.
The movie begins with a nostalgic opening reminiscent of old Hollywood — the black and white coloring, the music and Washington’s dancing. It is automatically apparent that Marie is not in the mood for Malcolm’s euphoria.
Malcolm sings, dances and unfortunately opens his mouth to reveal the plot. Malcolm and Marie just arrived home after his movie premiere. The two began to argue so quickly; I became nauseous.
I said to myself, “pull yourself together, do it for Zendaya,” but I had no idea what was to come.
Marie’s attitude is bitter, while Malcom is elated. She reveals that she is upset he forgot to thank her in his speech.
Malcolm apologizes and tells Marie that she is his world. The two intertwine for intimacy. After a brief hook up, Marie runs outside, and Malcolm loses her.
“I was outside smoking and you were in here apologizing in whatever emotionally obtuse way made sense to you,” Marie said. “You don’t actually want me to have a life that is separate from yours because you are too fucking needy.”
Malcolm invalidates Marie’s emotions and dismisses her claims. The fight spirals once again. Malcolm belittles her for not trying hard enough to make it as an actress.
Act one is 45 minutes of arguments. A vicious, brutal and toxic dialogue is spewed from both ends; it is a nod to Levinson’s writing ability but then it just kept going.
It felt like a screenwriting exercise rather than a fleshed out script. As if a professor had asked, “How long can you make an argument?”
Personally having dealt with toxicity in friendships and relationships, I found it is very usual for ugliness to bubble to the surface in fights, but it was so elongated in “Malcolm & Marie” that it lost relevance.
Music is a large part of the film, but even before the second act, it felt like a crutch for a mood change. Zendaya and Washington are talented enough on their own to play with tension and moods as actors.
As discussion continues about Malcolm’s film, we discover Marie’s past inspired parts of the script. She feels used and pained that now her tragedy is a movie, and she now longer owns it. Her resentment festers toward him.
Malcolm is preoccupied with a white film critic from the Los Angeles Times. He worries she will make his film out to be more political than he intended.
Thus, the plot thins while Marie undresses and takes a bath. Finally peace — but wait, Malcolm has more to say.
“Why you love being hurt, traumatized and fucking eviscerated?” Malcolm said. “It’s not normal. It’s not healthy, and it permeates every aspect of our relationship … I’ve dated some damaged people in my life, Marie. But none of them wanted to be debased and degraded like you.”
Marie smiles, and Malcolm continues to taunt her. The audience witnesses Malcolm’s emotional abuse and manipulation as he then leaves but comes back to tell Marie how much he loves her, worships her and her mind.
Act one ended as a fever dream, and I thought of “how could there possibly be more?”
Race plays a large part in the film. According to Levinson, the film was a collaborative process between the actors and his script. He admitted there are things he can not speak to as a white man that he wanted to elevate by having Black characters.
“There’s certain things that I’m not going to get 100% right about what it feels to be a Black creative,” Levinson told Independent. “[W]hat I can do is write what feels true to the character and have faith in the collaborative process of filmmaking.”
During act two, where films go to die, Malcolm goes on a tirade when the film critic from the L.A. Times publishes a negative review. He screams, tenses and shakes as he holds his phone and reads.
Words in the review are kind, but Malcolm does not enjoy the critic made his film about politics, even though it is. Particularly acting disgusted that she said he “subverted the white savior trope.”
“The fact that the L.A. Times will hire such a fucking halfwit is beyond me,” Malcolm screams. “Morons like this sap the world of its mystery because they need everything spelled out with fucking A-B-C blocks.”
The attack lasted for what seemed like years while Marie laughed on the couch. Malcolm explodes with his disgust of her review, and then the movie takes a slight turn.
As I stated above, the second act is where movies go to die, and “Malcolm & Marie” is an excellent example of this screenwriting lesson. If this movie was 15-20 minutes long, it could be a masterpiece, but alas, it was not. During the second act, the movie pushes the boundaries of just how meta can a film be.
Meta meaning insulting self-referential. It could be since I was watching the movie with a critical eye that I took it to be this way. However, I watch all movies with a critical eye due to my background in screenwriting.
The attack on the critic felt personal and unnecessarily brutal. Film critics aren’t perfect, but they are people and Levinson’s writing made it clear their opinions often twist the meanings.
I’m sorry Sam, if you wanted better reviews go to Letterboxd, get a laugh and then maybe address your pretentiousness.
In the second act, the movie loses its footing with more arguing, more pettiness and more mania.
The film is pretentious but not self-aware. It’s as if the USC film bros we all know and hate tried to be deep; they’d scratch the surface, but when they try the high dive, they splatter on the cement.
The fighting begins again (at this point, the movie is now devoid of plot) and the real reason why Marie is bitter is revealed; she wanted to be cast in the lead. The movie is her life, and she feels robbed so she puts on a little show.
She grabs a knife and acts as if she never got clean, Malcolm finally shuts up and stares in awe at her performance. Alas, at what cost. The scene is fantastic and showcases Zendaya’s acting, her ability to create tension and slip between headspaces flawlessly.
Chips finally fall into place when Marie reiterates why the fight began in the first place. She attacks him for his narcissism and puts him in his place reminding him all she wanted was a thank you for being a good partner to him.
“I’m the last person standing,” Marie said. “All I wanted tonight was a ‘thank you,’ Malcolm. That is it. That’s all. ‘Thank you, Marie. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for making my life better, for getting your life together.’”
If anything, I now have less faith in straight cis-men. Not even Marie, a beautiful model, can get a man to say thank you.
All in all, I commend the directing. The visuals kept me engaged more than the plot. The movie could be greatly improved, it is devoid of plot, consciousness and self awareness but it makes up for in soul.
I don’t mean the review to be scathing. I went in as a Zendaya fan and left as a Zendaya fan, but my opinion of Levinson is tainted. While there may be less glory in short films, I truly believe if “Malcolm & Marie” was 20 minutes, it could be a vision of perfection.