You Might Just See Yourself in ‘Malcolm & Marie’
“I feel like once you know someone is there for you…it’s not until you’re about to lose someone that you finally pay attention.”
In the opening scene, the camera pans across the house and viewers get a glimpse of Malcolm and Marie through glass windows. Malcolm dances as he comes off the high of his movie premiere. Marie, noticeably irritated, is in the kitchen preparing him Kraft macaroni and cheese.
The audience is outside looking in.
This barrier is broken when Marie steps outside for a cigarette and Malcolm continues to rave about the success of the night. The tension builds and the audience quickly learns that Malcolm had forgotten to thank Marie in his speech—in a film that is based on her.
As outsiders, viewers are fully unaware of how vulnerable the next hour and 45 minutes will make them feel. And how familiar it may seem.
Sam Levinson directed, wrote, and produced this 21st-century romantic drama starring Zendaya and John David Washington. Levinson, who is also the creator of Euphoria, and Zendaya, the star of Euphoria, wanted to put their team back to work. With a limited crew of 22 and only 12 people allowed on set at a time, Malcolm & Marie is a true testament to a post-pandemic world.
The initial reviews of Malcolm & Marie from critics were fairly poor. Jennifer Catsoulis of The New York Times describes the film as “an extended, exhausting argument in this claustrophobic example of pandemic filmmaking from Netflix.”
“A failure on every level,” writes Angelica Jade Bastien of Vulture.
But as Malcolm said when ranting about film critics, “She’s not looking at the film. The ideas in it, the emotions, or the craft. Cinema doesn’t need to have a f*cking message. It needs to have a heart and electricity.”
Malcolm & Marie is an unfortunate modern-day love story. The vulnerability, anxiety, and almost manic argument between the two characters can be felt off-screen. If you are a woman who has ever felt unappreciated, you quickly realize how you fit into Malcolm and Marie’s world.
Many people, especially Black women, have taken to Twitter to express how they can see themselves in Marie’s shoes.
Scottie Beam, co-host of Black Girl Podcast and Okay, Now Listen, explains it best. “Marie is a great character. She’s me. She’s tough but super fragile and vulnerable. You can see her grappling with when to be one or the other, and that’s my issue. I don’t wanna be too soft, and I don’t wanna be too hard, but I am both of these things. They both exist in my life,” Beam writes.
Zendaya displays her range as an actress. She has a captivating on-screen presence and a distinct ability to speak life into the deeper conversations that many are too scared to have.
Malcolm & Marie is filled with a tremendous amount of emotion. But in the end, the one thing that resonates is the idea that people need to feel appreciated. All Marie truly wanted was a thank you, just like so many women, whether in their relationships, schools, or careers.
Zendaya took to Twitter to further extend that message of gratitude off-screen: “It’s gratitude for every moment and every person we get to love. To stop and acknowledge the people in our lives who make it possible to do the work we do and honestly, make life worth living. It comes in many forms and sometimes it’s just a thank you.”
Malcolm & Marie is a much-needed reminder that no one deserves to be taken for granted.