“You are, by far, the most excruciating, difficult, stubbornly obnoxious woman I have ever met in my entire life. I fucking love you.”
Malcolm, Malcolm & Marie
A Hollywood filmmaker and his girlfriend return home from his film premiere, only to get into a spiral of arguments, and question the integrity of their relationship.
What did I like?
First things first, I loved the monochromatic cinematography. The whole film is shot in black and white frame and it creates a very hypnotic effect for the viewer. The aesthetic camerawork is definitely the film’s finest aspect.
Zendaya stole the show with her performance. John David Washington and Zendaya both gave exceptional performances, but Zendaya was on a separate league of her own. I could feel her raw emotions through the screen, even without any dialogue. Her facial expressions and monologues were truly moving and sometimes, even quite overwhelming.
This was an unconventional film. It was shot in a single location and takes place over just one night. There are only two characters- both of whom spend the entire film either arguing or making love. I liked the unique concept, even if I didn’t thoroughly enjoy it.
The script is intense and thought-provoking. It constantly makes us think ‘do they really love each other?‘.
What did I not like?
This film is a talkathon. It has very little action, and a whole lot of arguing. Most of the argument is repetitive. The protagonists continuously keep circling back to each other’s flaws. Just when the argument dies down and we see them relax, one of them starts up again, continuing the vicious circle. I did not enjoy the spiralling back to the same thing again and again. It gave me a very monotonous feel.
The first twenty minutes are actually pretty good, everything after that is just a continuation of the same thing over and over again. The film had a very slow pace and felt tedious at points.
The psychological discussions and arguments reminded me quite a bit of the film Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?. I wasn’t a big of that film due to its extensive conceptual dialogues, and I wasn’t a big fan of Malcom & Marie due to the same reason.
After a while, the heavy monologues feel staged and scripted, which breaks the realistic effect of the film.
Conclusion?
A visually beautiful film and concept, ruined by a lot of talking.
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