MALCOLM AND MARIE – A Review by Hollywood Hernandez
Showing both in theaters and on Netflix this week is the complicated love story Malcolm and Marie. The movie stars John David Washington (Denzel’s son) and Zendaya who’s worked before with writer and director Sam Levinson. Levinson wrote the movie with Zendaya in mind after the two formed a strong bond working on the HBO series Euphoria.
The movie reminded me more of a one-act stage play than a movie. Malcolm and Marie features only the two actors and the entire movie is set in the couple’s home after coming home from Malcolm’s movie premiere as they wait at home for reviews to start coming in for the film.
However, the two actors give strong performances and manage to carry the entire movie. As they wait for the reviews Malcolm gets Marie to open up about her thoughts on the film and it turns out she’s not as high on the film as he had expected her to be.
We learn that the movie is really the story of her life and how she battled drug addiction. There’s a lot of screaming and fighting in the film but once Marie starts to control her emotions there is some real heartfelt conversation where she confesses her love for Malcolm.
The dialogue is sharp and cutting and is perfectly timed to convey the emotions being felt by this couple who seem to be in a “love/hate” relationship. Malcolm and Marie is a real cutting edge drama and perhaps it could be a jumping-off point for couples to have a conversation about what’s going on in their own relationship.
The movie is rated R for sexual content and language and on my “Hollywood Popcorn Scale” I rate it a LARGE.
