Review of Malcolm & Marie (2021) by Moviemitch96 — 05 Feb 2021

John David Washington and Zendaya play a couple who return to their home from the premiere of his film that he directed and find their relationship put to the test as arguments and revelations arise throughout the night as they await the film's critic reviews.

Directed by Sam Levinson (best known for creating and collabing with Zendaya on HBO's Euphoria), and shot in secret during lockdown last summer, the film quite simply and unfortunately falls into a repetitive pattern of argue, make up and make out, argue, make up and make out, repeat.

It gets tiresome and predictable pretty fast, with seemingly no true aim or sense of story or direction. It also comes off as slightly pretentious, what with it's black and white cinematography and the feeling that it's just an extended Louis Vuitton commercial.

However, it is worth noting that Washington and Zendaya do give pretty great performances and enjoy some solid chemistry with one another, as is to be expected from two of some of the most top-tier actors of this generation.

The dialogue and script also leave some compelling impacts at times. Overall, Washington and Zendaya work great together, but it can't fully make up for a hollow, repetitive, and somewhat pretentious idea and execution.