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

After the first trailer for this Netflix original film dropped I was immediately invested. I was beyond excited to see actors like Zendaya and John David Washington take on such serious roles. Granted I’ve seen Washington in films like Tenet and Blackkklansman, but I have not seen Zendaya to this caliber quite yet. Malcolm and Marie follows a couple who have to deal with each other's hard truths about one another and come to terms with the fact that just because they may love each other doesn’t mean that their lives will always consist of happiness and rainbows.

Malcolm and Marie is truly as it is advertised, “It’s not a love story; it’s a story about love”, and it nails that theme right on the head. This movie is about the struggles of a relationship rather than the lavish sides of it. For anyone who has been in a relationship a film like this may be easy to relate to in some ways. Performances were amazing from both Zendaya as well as John David Washington and although the story may feel as if it is dragging at times it doesn’t drag for long as the viewer is forced to experience the characters changes in emotions. As a viewer I found it hard to side with a particular person during the arguments because relationships are all about compromise and working together, and I think that was a deliberate intent from writer/director Sam Levinson.

This film is most certainly not for everyone; whether that be because of the black and white filter over the entire film, the plot that makes it easier to follow if you have been in a relationship, or the dumb social media outrage when people found out about the age gap between Zendaya and Washington in real life. The separation of film from reality is a topic for another time, but at the end of the day the film knows exactly what it wants to be and who it wants to entertain.

Malcolm and Marie didn’t reinvent the love story, but it is refreshing to see more films like this shine a light on the more visceral side of loving someone. Another film that comes to mind in this category is Marriage Story, another Netflix original film. Fantastical love stories are fun and entertaining, but the more realistic side can be just as entertaining even if it lacks in the fun department.