The thin line between love and hate (but the sum of the parts doesn't add up)

paul-allaer

As "Malcolm & Marie" (2021 release; 106 min.) opens, the couple arrives home late at night, after Malcolm's latest film has premiered to apparently great buzz. Malcolm is putting on some great music, while Marie starts preparing some mac and cheese. As the conversation turns, we learn that Marie is quite upset with Malcolm as he failed to thank her in his post-movie's speech, despite the film being inspired by her drug addiction in a prior life. It marks the start of a looooong evening...

Couple of comments: this is the latest project from Sam Levinson, best known for the HBO TV series "Euphoria", starring Zendaya. When "Euphoria" shut down production due to COVID-19, he pitched some ideas for a feature film to Zendaya, who eagerly accepted this particular idea. John David Washington equally jumped on it. It all sounded so promising, and when I saw the film's trailer recently, I couldn't wait to see this. Alas, something doesn't quite add up. The biggest shortcoming is without a doubt the script. It's just not equipped to provide 1 hr. and 45 min. of in-depth characters. To be clear: there are only 2 characters in the film. The trajectory of the characters is too obvious: from hot to cold, to hot again, and then to cold again, and at some point you just want to yell "enough already!". Check out the long monolgue that Malcolm gives upon reading the LA Times review of his new film "by that white chick". I mean, even John David Washington collapses in the film at the end of that rant from sheer exhaustion! But then there are scenes that are very powerful. So in the end it's a bit of a bixed bag, and frankly this feels like a missed opportunity. Please note that the film is shot in B&W, and features an outstanding soundtrack with choice cuts from James Brown, Outcast, and many others. It is also noteworthy that this is touted as the first Hollywood film produced and shot entirely during the COVID-19 pandemic, adhering fully to the COVID restrictions during the movie's production.

"Malcolm & Marie" was self-financed by Sam Levison and his wife (with a minuscule $2.5 million production budget), and then Netflix snapped it up for an eye-popping $30 million. The film was released for a limited theatrical run this past weekend, before then moving on to Netflix in the near future. The Sunday early evening screening where I saw this at turned out to be a private screening: I was the only person in the theater (and the rest of the theater complex resembled a ghost town). I honestly don't know how movie theaters can operate profitably in the current pandemic. And it's not like this will change any time soon. Meanwhile if you are interested in a relationship drama or are simply a fan of Zendaya or John David Washington, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater (if you still can), on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

score 6/10

paul-allaer 2 February 2021

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw6554431/