Movie Review: Malcolm & Marie (R – 106 minutes)

 

Continuing safe pandemic movie-viewing, I watched Malcolm & Marie on Netflix.

Malcolm & Marie is unique because it was made entirely in the pandemic, with minimal crew, and only two actors doing their own hair and makeup while shooting entirely in the “Caterpillar House” in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.

The movie covers an argument between movie director Malcolm and actress Marie after they arrive home after the premiere of his movie. We learn he forgot to thank her during his speech.  She is upset, not just because he did not thank her, but because she feels the movie is based on her life. He claims it is not. Things get heated and cool down, then get excruciating from there. They manage to seem to both truly hate each other and passionately love each other. 

The movie feels like it is a play, and perhaps writer-director Sam Levinson would have made it a play, but with no possible audiences or theaters during a pandemic, shifted it to a movie instead.  After shooting on HBO’s Euphoria shut down, he conferred with Zendaya for another project to tackle, and developed this story. Shooting it in black and white removes all distractions from the background and allows the focus to be the two actors as they proceed to act their assess off.  They both do a fantastic job, and the movie has a fascinating quality.  As with many other Oscar-y movies – I can tell you that the craftmanship is excellent, but that I did not care for it at all.

Both Washington and Zendaya are incredibly charismatic and watchable, but personally I do not want to watch a two-hour argument between two characters I cannot stand. Honestly, I thought the movie was two and a half hours long – I am shocked to learn it is just over an hour and a half.  It feels like it goes on forever, and while it raises some interesting questions (should Malcolm’s movies be considered political because he is a black director, even if that wasn’t his intent?), I found myself tuning out as they got more and more at each other’s throats. They both do an incredible job of bringing depth and soul to the viewpoints of each character.

I am incredibly curious if it was direction by Levinson or a choice by JDW to eat the mac-and-cheese the way he did. When they return home, he does laps around the living room ranting about the responses to the movie while Marie makes mac-and-cheese. After round one in their fight, he sits and eats the mac-and-cheese in the loudest, angriest way I have ever seen anyone eat. And while that is in no way key to the story (I don’t think? It is a metaphor? Representational?), it was so incredibly off-putting that I had a hard time moving past it! And then, of course, I wanted a bowl of mac-and-cheese.

3 out of 10 – again, grading on my taste, not the quality. It is very well made, and if you love character-study plays, you will probably love this. It is beautifully shot and expertly acted, but not at all my cup of tea.