Malcolm & Marie - Review

This piece was written for the Screen & Story Film Festival Blog.

I had heard about Malcolm & Marie before I came across it on Netflix. From the moment I saw the preview I was intrigued; it’s in black & white, it stars renowned actors Zendaya and John David Washington and is an independent film about a filmmaker. When I finished watching it I felt a bit frustrated and came to the conclusion that I have very conflicting opinions on it. When I was watching Malcolm & Marie I instantly drew comparisons to the screen adaptation of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Much like Nichols’ Film this one focuses on the deterioration of a couple over the course of an evening and ends the next morning. Although you can undoubtedly conjure a variety of similarities between this Netflix original and the 1966 classic they are not truly comparable. Where Malcolm & Marie fails where WAOVW succeeds is in its ingenuity, in its ability to keep you interested for its entirety and in the plot complexity; as it descends deeper and deeper into chaos over the course of the film rather than in the first half. Like I said, although it is undeniable that Malcolm & Marie writer and director Sam Levinson took inspiration from WAOVW, in my humble opinion, it feels largely superficial in comparison. However, as much as I struggled with some aspects of the film there are parts of it that I did admire. One of these features is the cinematography. In terms of the cinematography I have two favourite moments; one at the beginning and one at the end. The first shot I am talking about is taken through the window of the house looking in, Malcolm is dancing around their home and Marie unwinds from their evening out; it is dynamic, it is aesthetically pleasing and it’s beautifully executed. The other noteworthy shot is at the films’ finale which is taken from inside the bedroom looking out at Malcolm and Marie standing on a grassy bank. In contrast to the rest of the film it is refreshingly calm and is the antithesis of the aforementioned shot. The modern architecture of the house combined with the obvious contrast of nature and human creates a well-balanced and visually artistic finish. I was unsurprised to learn that the cinematographer Marcell Rév won an award for his efforts.

As well as the cinematography I thought both actors did a truly convincing job and between them there are some really powerful moments. One of these moments is when Marie is in the bath while Malcolm tells her about how some of his previous lovers have inspired the lead character in his latest film. If you have watched the film then you will know just how intense, shocking and uncomfortable this scene was; if not then stop reading here and go and watch it. The dialogue written for Malcolm’s character in this scene is brutal and Marie is left silently processing what he is saying whilst naked, vulnerable and degraded. Power play is a huge part of this film as we see it bouncing from one character to another in a game-like fashion and this scene creates one of the most interesting shifts in the storyline. However, as much as there were some really creative and interesting choices in Malcolm & Marie, I could not get over its monotony. In all honesty, I struggled to watch it to the end. I truly believe that if it had been made as a short film it would have been entirely more effective. I feel as if you could watch the first forty minutes and the final two minutes and get just as much out of it. Therefore, with all things considered I gave the film a fair six out of ten on IMDb; although there were some great elements, it was just too long and repetitive.

What did you think?