MALCOLM & MARIE
Zendaya + John David Washington Sizzle
One of the first high-profile films to have been written, filmed and released during the COVID-era, Malcolm & Marie teams writer and director Sam Levinson up again with Euphoria star Zendaya and John David Washington. This drama combines the intensity of Marriage Story with gorgeously high contrast black and white 35mm cinematography.
After coming back home late from the premiere of his latest film, Malcolm (John David Washington) broods over his work’s reception and reviews, while dealing with the fallout of forgetting to thank Marie (Zendaya) in his speech.
The first third of the movie is dominated by Malcolm’s powerful monologues, but Marie is not content to let him get the last word. Following his gripes about how reviewers (and one fictitious L.A. Times Review in particular) can only see his work as political, Marie begins to question Maclom’s premise. Their conflict boils as Marie reveals that she is still hurt that Malcolm didn’t cast her as his film’s lead. And she doesn’t think that Malcolm fully understands and respects how she shaped and inspired his latest project. Marie accuses Malcolm of ripping off her life story. She was a former drug addict, while his family has always been well-off.
To be COVID19-safe, the film was shot with a threadbare crew (Zendaya did her own makeup and costuming). This is a film that shows the possibilities of making a film safely during COVID, but where the subject matter isn’t about the pandemic. The dozen-member production team (including cast and crew) shot Malcolm & Marie at the notable Caterpillar House in Carmel, California. The open-plan, environmentally-conscious setting, which mixes ranch house vibes with contemporary low-set geometric surfaces, provides a luscious canvas for the film.
After already making history as the youngest Emmy award winner for Best Actress in a Drama Series with HBO’s Euphoria, could this be the movie that leads Zendaya on the path to become the youngest EGOT winner? In addition to acting, Zendaya (and Washington) serve as the film’s producers.
Watch Malcolm & Marie streaming on Netflix February 5th, 2021.
