An argument for the ages, Malcolm & Marie throws the kitchen sink back and forth with little care as to what (or whom) the shattered ceramic pierces. Both explosive and silently tense, Levinson starts off strong only for the fireworks to sputter out. 

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Rating: 3/5

Writer and director, Sam Levinson’s Malcolm & Marie opens like any argument: silent tension fills the room as one participant attempts to hide their emotions while the other has no clue in the slightest that there is anything to participate in. And, for the most part, the film plays out in real-time quite truthfully to what most romantic, world-shattering arguments go through which, unfortunately, creates a lot of explosive highs but very long and lonesome lows.

Confident and arrogant, writer and director Malcolm (John David Washington) returns home with his stunning and smart girlfriend Marie (Zendaya) after an emotional and successful premiere. Malcolm anxiously walks around the house as he waits for the wave of reviews, euphorically tooting his own horn as Marie listens, cigarette in hand as she cooks mac & cheese at 1am. Arrogant in his own perception of himself, the up-and-coming director spews self-righteousness, oblivious of the consequences that his ignorance is about to bring as he fishes for compliments in a pool that is bare of fish.

Once the elephant in the room is revealed to Malcolm, sparks fly as the pair somewhat reluctantly start the party. The argument comes in waves and when the film is at these peaks the chemistry between the couple is perfect, every beat continuously building into a rhythmic and raw encounter. At first glance, the choice to cast Zendaya against Washington may look unbalanced with Zendaya known for playing younger characters such as M.J. in the MCU’s Spiderman series yet she fits naturally, holding up against Washington’s volley of verbal fire. Having worked with Levinson on Euphoria (and Zendaya being heavily involved in the production of the film), Zendaya strides with ease as the speeches flow out of her, both loathing and love present.

Washington puffs up his chest and never questions himself as his monologues are verbose and intellectually arrogant; Malcolm constantly trying to separate himself from the mainstream that he can’t admit to being a part of even when proven to be. Even with a wordy script, Washington shines in Malcolm’s moments of peace. As he sits there, listening, watching, Washington breathes life into the character as he observes, several of the deadly sins lying in wait behind his eyes. 

What Malcolm & Marie lacks is a coherent pace, a problem that the dialogue, cinematography, and acting all try to mitigate but never overcome. The argument swings back and forth as they scream and swear at each other, dying down as the pair have seemingly found a middle ground only for it to be surface level. This constant change is entrancing and breath-taking as the rollercoaster climbs up the next hill, anxiety building as a drop is coming but what it is exactly will only be made known once there. Yet, after some time, the whole affair becomes a bit tedious.

Silently in disagreement… Zendaya and John David Washington. Image: Netflix

Each squabble is like a plate-balancing act. The plates spin and spin and spin on-top of increasingly longer poles, each time faster than before. Eventually, the plate falls and shatters, leaving behind a sense of quiet unease. A new plate is set spinning until the balancer steps on a previous shard, wobbling the new plate and eventually shattering. Visually, the stakes seem to get higher but after a while it all starts to blur together; just because the new plate has a different pattern doesn’t mean it still isn’t just a plate.

The one exception is around 2/3rds of the way into the film, just after Malcolm rants about critics and their lack of insight and art (a moment that strives to be insightful but borders on heavy-handed as it seems to never end). This new mini argument isn’t just a discussion between the pair but the moment that kills the film, changing the tone in an instant as it overshadows every second before it and every second to come.

Malcolm and Marie figure-skate eloquently across paper-thin ice as the heat keeps turning up, the act interrupted sporadically by brief romance or the drunk search of a credit card as they try to access the first review behind a paywall.

Unfortunately, where Levinson had painted a picture of a great bonfire burning between the couple, flames fuelled by their inner love and proclaimed hate; the final encounter leaves cold embers extinguishable by the lightest of looks. 
 
As the boilingly brilliant duet fades away, so does the potential for greatness, turning what originally felt like a powerful swing into a weaker attempt at what could have been a self-aware dialogue on the authenticity and credibility of Hollywood and its critics. The exclamation mark that Malcolm & Marie had been building up to is replaced by a simple period, concluding a raw cross-section of the deep and dark secrets of love with an uninteresting and unsatisfying finale begging the question: why this argument?

Malcolm & Marie is streaming on Netflix.