Malcolm and Marie

Relationship dramas have a hefty challenge in standing out for the right reasons depends on their subject matter. With how overcrowded that section is within the overall drama, some of them can go through typical cliched character arcs, normal dilemmas that can affect marriage life, deep building tension after tragic events, etc. A great recent example of this that comes to mind would be Marriage Story (2019) and how the situation there is handled well. This brings us to a new entry within that group, Malcolm and Marie, which was written and directed by Sam Levinson (best known for the teen drama tv series, Euphoria). There wasn't much marketing for it but there was social media buzz around it regarding rising actress Zendaya (who was also in Euphoria). It made its debut on Netflix recently at the time of this review and I was hoping for a jolt of quality after my first 2 cinematic helpings of 2021 so far. After watching it on Netflix, however, it surprised me how much of a tug of war this arthouse film was between being impressive and frustrating.

What's it about? After returning back home from his film premiere, the story follows the director and his girlfriend entering spending a long night in arguments with each other regarding serious topics. This doesn't waste anytime in establishing details that add gasoline to a tense situation that's been building up off-screen here. The discussions range from their assessments of one another regarding personal backgrounds to analyzing the state of the movie industry when it comes to critics and how interpretations of works can be manipulated. The uncomfortable nature is felt throughout feels very genuine between the two of them as a sense of what kind of individuals they are gets fleshed out well. 

The way the screenplay is written, however, opens up major problems that affect both the watchability and quality as a whole. The vocabulary utilized in the dialogue feels like it was meant for mature 40 or 50 year olds rather than these individual who would be around their late 20s (maybe early 30s). One distracting detail about the premise is how the girlfriend has a past as a drug user and is involved in relationship dilemmas, which basically sounds like Euphoria's plot detail copy/pasted. The commentary about the industry feels like it's using common social media threads and is tying you down so you listen to it (no matter how repetitive it gets). The art house quality overall makes it inaccessible to casual viewers to the point where its indulgent script turns it into a niche critics pick rather than a compelling piece of work.

 

How are the actors? In regards to story importance, the actors to focus on are Zendaya and John David Washington. Zendaya gives a great performance with a fair amount of range needed for an intense long night where it can throw her either into truthful aggression or holding her ground. John gives one of his better performances in recent years where the variety of emotions he undergoes between excitement, frustration, and being egotistical is handled effectively. The chemistry between both of them feels very natural between the banter and the direction there are given (including parts where one is watching the other enter a monologue).

 

Overall Consensus: Malcolm and Marie is an arthouse relationship drama that thrives off of its great acting, solid directing, and some good moments but falters with an indulgent niche script that's hard to connect with. ⭑⭑⭑ Runtime: 1 hour 46 minutes R

 

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or director Sam Levinson. You are interested in film industry commentary. You are in the mood to watch a couple argue throughout the story. You don't mind argument where mean comments are thrown between romantic partners. 

 

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or director Sam Levinson. You aren't interested in film industry commentary. You are annoyed when screenplay gets too indulgent with its own content. You are sensitive to arguments where mean comments are thrown between romantic partners throughout the story.