Drama
Malcolm (John David Washington), a filmmaker, and his girlfriend Marie (Zendaya) return home from his movie premiere to await the critics reviews. But the celebratory evening takes a turn when tensions and painful revelations about their relationship arise, testing the strength of their love.
Director:
Aisha Harris
These are a few things that can be, and often are, true: Black artists are lavished with praise for their societal value while the artistry of their technique and craftwork are overlooked. White critics fall back on comparing Black artists to one another even if the work, style or visions among them are entirely disparate. Artists borrow from the lives of those they know intimately and risk making a mess of their relationships. Zendaya and John David Washington are talented performers and ridiculously good-looking human beings. (OK, this last one is consistently true.)
The mere fact that these things might be true at any given moment doesn t make them inherently compelling on their own. Stating – or shouting – them aloud without any further interrogation or curiosity just means someone recognized A Thing and then recited the existence of The Thing, not necessarily that they actually understand it or grasp the weight of its meaning.
Malcolm & Marie : A Man, a Woman and One Feature-Length Argument Malcolm & Marie : A Man, a Woman and One Feature-Length Argument
John David Washington and Zendaya verbally duke it out in this long, tortured thesis statement of a movie
K. Austin Collins, provided by
Feb. 5, 2021
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Life’s too short to make this review long. So, in the nature of Sam Levinson’s
Malcolm & Marie which, mercifully, jumps right to it let’s dive right in. It’s a film-length argument between Malcolm (John David Washington), a filmmaker who’s just premiered a new movie, and Marie (Zendaya), his girlfriend and the woman whose own life story one that involves self-abuse, addiction and recovery provided key source material for said movie. We meet them post-premiere, back at home, and it’s clear this couple isn’t on the same page. Malcolm is ebullient. Marie … isn’t.
Malcolm first harangues white critics by claiming they lack the vocabulary to analyze black art separate from a socio-political lens. Rather white critics rely upon the descriptors “timely,” “urgent,” and “authentic” to interpret black art into a serious sphere, even if the work might only be a comedy or action film. His outlook belies the opinion that genre needn’t decide whether a creation should be analyzed seriously. For example, Coming to America starring Eddie Murphy is an irreverent comedy about a royal traveling from his fictional country of Zamunda to Queens, New York, so he might find his bride. It would be foolhardy to not see how the film also worships black excellence or the dream of an African kingdom unaffected by slavery.