Malcolm and Marie (2021)

The lead performances are powerful, but the script renders this movie forgettable.

What is Malcolm and Marie about?

A filmmaker and his girlfriend return from his movie’s premiere and spend the night wrestling with the tensions in their romantic relationship.

Where can you watch Malcolm and Marie?

It’s available on Netflix (including Netflix SA).

Trigger Warnings:

Sexual content. Language.

My review of Malcolm and Marie

The performances are excellent. John David Washington, especially, is so immersed in his character that it’s impossible to see where he ends and Malcolm begins. Zendaya is also good, but Washington’s performance is stronger and more effortless.

The cinematography and production are brilliant, as well. Maybe it’s just because the movie’s in black and white (and I recently watched Mank…), but there’s an old Hollywood feel about the sets and the lighting and photography. It’s mesmerising.

Zendaya and John David Washington in Malcolm and Marie | from wmagazine.com

The script is where this movie disappoints. While I can’t deny the writer’s raw and real capturing of the ups and downs in this couple’s relationship, it’s not a well written story. The dialogue is weak. The pacing is ragged. Malcolm and Marie’s simmering tensions come to a head without nuance and with plenty of sloppy exposition. There are many layers to their conflict, but each one lacks development.

It’s also boring, and that has nothing to do with there only being two characters and one location in the whole movie. I could easily watch - and enjoy - a movie like that if the dialogue was electrifying. But in this case, it’s not. 

Have you seen Malcolm and Marie? What did you think of it?