Sit up straight and be attentive, Netflix’s drama “Malcom & Marie” is not a normal movie watching experience. It should not be enjoyed sitting back on your couch on a Friday night while you are scrolling through your phone or making dinner. It is meant to be seen fully, no distractions and it demands your full and undivided attention.
The film can seem lengthy, it is essentially an hour and forty-minute back and forth monologue. Malcolm and Marie spend the entire film trying to step over the each other to deliver the harshest, but also most touching speeches to express their love, affection and frustration with each other. Don't be surprised that if you finish the film, you may feel just as exhausted as both of the characters feel during the episodic arguments.
Trailer:
“Malcolm & Marie” is an honest, straight-forward, loud, suffocating, compelling narrative about the pitfalls and dynamics of a relationship through the lens of both partners. At least, that’s the first half.
The film made headlines prior to its release back in June 2020, when it had been announced that it was the first feature length film written, shot and produced during quarantine. A time when the world was just opening back up, Director Sam Levinson, John David Washington, Zendaya and a few other crew members rented out a house in Carmel California and went to work. What they made, is nothing short of breath-taking. However, there is a lot of unpack.
The film is shot entirely on one location, which can seem like a very long, wordy play, but the dynamics between Washington and Zendaya keep it from being just that. After returning home the night after Malcolm’s (Washington) movie premiere, there is already a tension in the air. While we couldn’t see what took place a few hours ago, we know that the disconnect between Malcolm and his girlfriend Marie (Zendaya) is palpable, to the audience at least. Malcolm is oblivious.
* A note, the inspiration for the movie was driven from real experience. Sam Levinson had noted that during an acceptance speech at an awards show, he forgot to thank his wife and was almost suffocated by the overwhelming remorse he experienced.
As they enter their secluded home, Malcolm begins parading around the room, bragging about the praise his film received and the buzzing reviews while Marie stays essentially silent, making him his favorite dinner at 1AM, Macaroni and Cheese. It takes a solid fifteen minutes of the film for Malcolm to pull his head up and question what’s wrong. This is where we discover that in Malcolm’s speech at the premiere, he didn’t thank or mention his longtime partner, Marie, at all.
While this slight slip was acknowledged and apologized for after the speech, the haunting realization that Marie’s husband didn’t acknowledge her role in the creation and production of a film, that is essentially based on her life and her experiences, is cold. As the argument escalates, we discover that the film Malcolm created, centered around a twenty-year old drug addict, struggling to get clean. Marie points out the obvious plot hole in the story to Malcolm, that she is the inspiration behind his character and he didn’t even give her a thank you nod.
The movie escalates from there. There are highs and lows of the argument that takes place during the course of the early hours of the morning and, like most arguments, it becomes so much more than the initial complaint. The movie spans over Malcolm and Marie’s back stories as they insult yet congratulate each other’s successes and failures. They push and pull against each other, searching for friction to continue the argument to ensure that the other gets the last word.
The only piece that didn’t seem to work for me was the length. I adored the first half of the film, spanning to the forty-five-minute mark, because for me, this is where the most touching subject matter is dissected: the sometimes volatile, but always respectful, relationship dynamic. The second half seems to re-direct focus. The second half changes course, veering towards the dissemination of Hollywood, narcissism in performers and the harsh depiction of critics. Malcolm delivers many long and lengthy monologues about the inequality of reviews in film and cinema and it almost seems like a complete 180 from the earlier subject matter.
Nevertheless, the film is held together by Zendaya and Washington’s powerhouse performances. Not very many actors and actresses can hold the screen for the length that these two do, especially when they have little set or other characters to interact with and utilize. Their performances, and the integrity of the film, was snubbed entirely from the Golden Globe and the SAG Awards that were announced earlier this week – something that shocked me.
Before the Golden Globe and SAG nominations, I would have believed that the film had a shot at the Oscars with Best Actress, Director and Original Screenplay – and it still might! But it isn’t looking as promising.
What did you think? Let me know!
And that’s the sitch.
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