Malcolm & Marie Review: Lacks Better Characters and Writing!

Malcolm & Marie is written and directed by Sam Levinson and stars Zendaya and John David Washington as a director and his girlfriend’s relationship is tested after they return home from his movie premiere and await critics’ responses. I feel like I’ve been hearing about this for two or three years now, but apparently, it is the first film written, produced, filmed, and released post-pandemic.

Also Read: Best Drama Movies on Netflix

Well, that has to count for something right? The teaming up of two superstars on the rise under the banner of the creator of the critically acclaimed “Euphoria” on HBO seemed like a match made in dark, dysfunctional heaven. So what went wrong? Why does everyone seem a little mixed on this?

Is it because Malcolm & Marie is just a tad too pretentious and unattainable to the average viewer in its ambition? Is it because it hits a little too close to home with its toxic relationship themes? Maybe it has something to do with the all-out assault and war it wages on the very thing I’m doing now? To me, it was a little bit of all of the above, but despite those clear and present issues, I still found this to be a completely raw, unfiltered, somewhat remarkable piece of cinematic art that I am glad was able to be made and exists.

As far as Levinson is concerned, he’s been a little hit or miss for me so far anyway. I loved “Euphoria” and disliked “Assassination Nation,” so it makes sense that I would fall a bit in the middle of both of those with this one. I thought the film was gorgeous from a purely cinematic perspective, and even though I think it’s been a little overutilized lately, I’m kind of a sucker for the black and white aesthetic. The shots are dynamic and interesting, and it maintains a nice mix of both classic and modern feels the entire way through. The performances are top-notch, as I think both may be giving the best of their entire careers here.

Where Malcolm & Marie falls apart for me is with the characters and the dialogue. I like the overarching themes and message behind the story, but the delivery in the form of these long drawn out monologues and screaming matches that ultimately go nowhere except pointing out how incredibly horrible and flawed these two characters are, just feels way too over the top and unrealistic.

And not unrealistic in the way that real couples don’t talk to each other this way, because they do, but more so how each argument transitioned from one to the next, without making you feel that progressive battering of each party as they went. They just said horrible hurtful things to each other, made up, and did it all over again over 1 hour and 45 minutes. To the point where you couldn’t even appreciate the great performances given because it was so repetitive and exhausting to watch and listen to.

And from the synopsis, I was hoping they’d dig more into how critics affect the artist and their work, but they only really mentioned it when it was convenient to bash specifically white critics, which is cool I guess, but I wanted something a little deeper. At the end of the day though, I didn’t dislike Malcolm & Marie. It’s interesting and I think it has a lot to say about a lot of things. I just wish it did it with better characters and writing. Watch ‘Malcolm & Marie’ on Netflix here.

Rating – 3.25/5 | Grade – B

Written by Ken Vetter
Follow Ken on IG – @midlevelmoviereviews

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