Malcolm & Marie is a Love That Explodes Over and Over
*Contains Spoilers for Malcom & Marie*
**Written back in 2021 as a school project**
I’m kind of terrified to write this review considering that Malcolm, played by John David Washington, in the film goes on an angry rant after receiving a good review for his fictional movie. If Malcolm were a real person, he would not like what I have to say about this film.
While I don’t totally hate the film, I don’t totally love it either. I hate the relationship that is depicted and that is kind of hard to get over since those are only characters seen on screen with others mentioned in passing. I can appreciate the production quality of the film, and the witty dialogue.
The relationship between Malcolm and Marie, who is played by Zendaya, is depicted like the song “Hot ‘n Cold” by Katy Perry. It’s up and down like a rollercoaster never knowing when one of the characters is going to explode at the other. When they love, they love well. When they fight, they also fight well. The film never allows you to get to know the characters but simply watch them fight over and over again all stemming from one issue.
Watching them fight is uncomfortable, messy, and kind of exhausting. Exhausting in a way that makes you want to pick up your phone to do something else, not go to sleep kind of exhausting. I know I picked up my phone a couple of times while watching. The audience watches from this outsider perspective that feels like a documentary. The audience feels like an outsider the most when you are watching the characters through the blinds of the house and not from inside the living room.
As a young Black woman who looks up to Zendaya, it’s hard to see her put herself in this character who is in what appears to be a toxic relationship. With very few mainstream representations of Black relationships, if this is what Black love looks like, I don’t want it.
Both Zendaya and John David Washington act their characters very well. I am more familiar with Zendaya from growing up watching her on Disney channel. Marie is definitely not a Disney princess in a fairytale relationship. I haven’t seen Zendaya in her Emmy winning role in Euphoria so I can’t make comparisons to that either but here Zendaya is playing an adult and not a teenager like the rest of her work.
While Malcolm & Marie didn’t achieve a relationship that I would watch again, they did achieve a nice film aesthetic. With a black and white but HD aesthetic in a swanky modern house in the middle of Malibu. The beginning pays homage to old school movies. Especially with the credits rolling at the beginning and the domesticity that they attempted in the first 10 minutes when Marie makes macaroni and cheese.
The dialogue is witty and feels almost lyrical. One of my favourite lines in the film are the exchange between Malcolm when he says “You’re psychotic” and how quickly Marie shoots back with “You’re hyperbolic.” My other favourite line is when “It’s not until you’re about to lose someone that you finally pay attention” which was also featured in the trailer but also very good life advice in general. Bits and pieces of dialogues just like those are easy to pull out and remember but overall get buried in the exhausting relationship.
Malcolm brings up a very real issue that Black creatives face. That their art is always turned political by those who don’t understand what it's like to be Black. It’s in his angry rant and the constant bringing up of Karen from the LA Times. Sometimes Black art is simply just art but others always interpret as something bigger simply because they don’t understand which is where buzzwords like authenticity and integrity come into play. The film does a good job of understanding the Black creative experience.
So if you want to revel in a traumatic and toxic relationship and appreciate old school aesthetics, witty dialogue and stellar performances, it might be worth a watch. But if you hate seeing people fight constantly, for emotional stability, you can skip it.
Where to Watch: Netflix