Malcolm and Marie is a drama film directed Sam Levinson. The plot follows Malcom (John David Washington), and Marie (Zendaya), as there relationship is tested over the course of one particularly bad night.
I think there are good elements to this film, and I will get to them in time, but there are also a lot of issues, it is by no means perfect as it is deeply flawed in a number of ways. Firstly, it is very, very smug and up its own arse as an art film, and that is clear and is quite off-putting. Secondly, this film is made for people who know a fair bit about film in general, there are five to ten-minute scenes where Malcolm rants on and on about certain things to do with the industry and if you don’t have a keen amount of know how in that regard you will be lost.
The issue with these sort of films, and it is the same fate that befell, Pieces Of A Woman is that when films centre around these intimate struggles, the delivery has to be spot on and feel reflective of reality. Now I am not knocking either of the performances, as I thought they were the only good part of the film, however, neither of these characters behave in a natural way (going on long winded rants about the finer points of film criticism, while your partner stairs blankly at the celling), and it reads as overacted and also like a film writer’s fantasy version of reality. Nothing against the performances, everything against the highschool play esque script.
Zendaya and John David Washington make the most out of what they have and try and give it some personality and life- dying nobly on that hill. It is a shame as they are both talented.
Overall, nearly all the art house cliches rolled into one. Poor, but well-acted.
Pros.
Washington
Zendaya
Cons.
It is smug
It feels overacted and fake
It seems like the writer has never had a real human conversation before
It is not as deep as it thinks it is
1/5
Reviewed by Luke
Another Millennial Reviewer 