At the height of the global pandemic, many people found themselves taking up new hobbies or committing more to their current ones. For his own lockdown pastime, hot off the success of Euphoria, writer/director Sam Levinson conceived, wrote, shot and sold his latest feature film to Netflix: Malcolm & Marie.
The titular couple in question is played, respectively, by John David Washington (who is enjoying a lot of success in the current climate with Tenet and now this) and Zendaya. Taking place over the course of one night, Levinson’s two-hander follows the quarrels and ruminations of Malcolm and Marie after the premiere of the former’s first film. Debating their roles in one another’s lives, as well as a myriad of other topics like substance abuse and what true love means and the damning work of film criticism, the pair find their relationship put to the test as secrets about their pasts rise in their ongoing arguments.
Unlike Songbird or Locked Down, Malcolm & Marie doesn’t suffer from being a tone-deaf pandemic film. Despite being shot under COVID-19 restrictions, it refreshingly isn’t about the state of the world right now. Instead, Levinson used the opportunity to make a contained chamber piece about intimacy and relationships and it’s a nice change of pace from Netflix’s recent pantheon of lockdown blockbusters the likes of Enola Holmes, The Old Guard, and Extraction. The script is certainly a textured one, with fascinating insights to make on art and love and criticism especially (a film that almost feels review-proof by design) but it’s the blistering turns from both Washington and Zendaya that elevate the material to a whole new level. They both have their fair share of wordy monologues and they turn them into such riveting, emotional pieces fitting into this jigsaw of a relationship. Just when one actor pulls out a scene that can’t be topped, the other says “challenge accepted” and brings something even better. It’s a constant back-and-forth, a sparring match between performers, that snowballs with intensity and vulnerability. And it’s thoroughly enjoyable to watch.
Levinson’s uneven script can occasionally borderline on pretentious and obnoxious though. A five-minute monologue having a dig at white critics trying to find a political edge in films where it doesn’t exist, and just slandering the profession in general, is a funny albeit tiresome scene. There’s a lot of that sort of thing; conversations and one-liners that feel a tad trite and flippant. Film is subjective. We get it! The core argument between Malcolm and Marie also keeps rearing its head, even after you thought the pair had finally put it to bed. Spending 106-minutes with two characters arguing in one location is not an easy task and the conversations vary in how interesting they actually are. But, for the most part, Levinson does a really good job of keeping the conceit fairly involving and enthralling. Just when we’re about to zone about, he pulls us back in. By the end, we feel like we know both Malcolm and Marie and their relationship better than maybe even they do. That’s a testament to Levinson’s filmmaking, yes, but Malcolm & Marie would be nothing if not for the masterful performances from John David Washington and Zendaya.
Malcolm & Marie is released on on Netflix on 5th February 2021.
Malcolm & Marie
Summary
Masterful performances from John David Washington and Zendaya make this a must-see.
