My mixed feelings about “Malcolm & Marie”

**SPOILER ALERT**

I usually can tell if I liked a movie or not.
But “Malcolm & Marie”, Sam Levinson’s new film, is one of those films that left me confused. Because I liked it and I didn’t like it at the same time.

I’m not going to lie: what made me want to watch it (at first) was the aesthetics. As soon as I saw the trailer, I thought it was beautiful.
The contrasts were striking, and the shots were really intriguing.
I rarely watch black and white films, and when I do, it’s usually old films.
But here I find that the “modern” use of black and white is very “eye-catching”.
And it’s perhaps this rarity that makes it even more enjoyable.

A couple (Malcolm - played by John David Washington and Marie - played by Zendaya) return home after the premiere of Malcolm’s new film. From what has been said during that evening, it’s easy to assume that Malcolm’s film will certainly be acclaimed by the critics. But despite this good news, we quickly feel that there’s something wrong between the two.

Reading the various summaries, we might think that this film is just another film about a love relationship. But in reality, I find it different, more authentic and therefore more interesting.
But it’s also more upsetting.
Here’s why:

1 - First of all, this film broke my heart.

As soon as Malcolm & Marie go home, we can feel that they’re not “on the same wavelength”: Malcolm is drunk, happy, dancing, and wants to celebrate his success with his girlfriend. While his girlfriend is distant, she vaguely answers him and starts to cook. Several minutes pass without Malcolm realising that something is wrong.
He finally does it and insists on understanding why. Marie doesn’t want to talk. She says it will go wrong if she says why she’s upset but with Malcolm’s insistence, she finally talks: Malcolm didn’t thank Marie during his speech. You’d think this would be a stupid reason but it’s not: it encompasses much more than a thank you and from there our hearts get tighter and tighter.
Throughout the film, there are arguments, shouts but also some a few sensual, loving moments, but overall it is a heavy atmosphere.
The line between love and hate is very thin. The word “hate” is certainly a bit strong here, but you can feel from the first argument, that the things said really had to be said.
It’s heartbreaking because it’s a universal topic. It’s the story of “Malcolm & Marie” but I think many, many people can relate to it.
It’s also heartbreaking because both actors play really well. I believe in them as a couple (the chemistry is so strong between them!) but I also believe in them individually. We don’t know exactly what their backgrounds are and when one of them says something, it seems like both are right and both are wrong.
It’s heartbreaking because you become attached to both characters without being able to take sides. I recognised myself in Marie, in her inability to love herself, in her sensitivity and yet she irritated me on certain points.
For example, I sometimes found her too self-centred.
As for Malcolm, he made me laugh.
I also found him loving and yet he too irritated me on certain points.
For instance, I think I would have had the same reaction as Marie regarding the “forgetting” of the thank you during his speech, and I found him so cruel in the bathroom scene.
It’s impossible to take sides because we don’t know what happened before and, also, nobody’s perfect. I often thought “he/she has gone too far this time”.

The film takes place behind closed doors and you really feel it.
They live in a house that seems to be lost in the middle of nowhere.
What also makes this film interesting is that it was made in 2020, a year that was unfortunately made up of lockdowns. I find that this film is very similar to some of the feelings experienced during such times. Being cut off from the world, being confronted with difficult thoughts and wondering how you are going to deal with them and what the road ahead will be like.

I know that many people believe that Malcolm makes this an abusive relationship. I agree on some parts, but on others, I can’t help but think that if the relationship is abusive, it is abusive for both of them. They know their own powers, and they know how to manipulate the other. Hitting the other where it hurts.

2 - Time

It’s quite late when the couple returns home. At one point, Marie says that she’s cooking food when it’s already late (1 a.m.) and that she just wants to go to bed. Minutes and arguments pass, and sometimes the atmosphere is so heavy that you want the film to stop. So when you think that the conflict seems to be calming down, we tend to think “phew, it’s finally calming down!” But no! One of the characters wants to have the last word and here we go again… so we wonder when it’s going to stop, when they’re going to stop hurting each other. This is one of the director’s achievements: the story becomes suffocating and exhausting for the characters and for us!
But there is also a kind of suspense: even when it calms down, as a viewer we know the film will last (you only have to pause the film to see that there are minutes left before the end) and so you wonder how it will continue.

3 - Surprise

When Marie picks up a knife and walks towards Malcolm, I remember thinking that I didn’t want the film to be bloody. And when Marie starts telling Malcolm, knife in hand, all the things she did to him (cheating, stealing, continuing to take drugs…), how can you not think “What? She did this?” Like Malcolm, I was stunned. And as surprised as he was when he realised that Mary had just been acting… and then proved how talented she could be. The director played with our feelings, leading us down a false path before returning to reality. And yes, I liked the surprise.

4 - Laughter (yes, there’s laughter!)

Some people may not understand me, but this film also made me laugh.
I’m talking about Malcolm’s crazy monologues about the reviews of his film. There are some things I agree with him about, including the way critics categorise works according to their authors.
But how can you not laugh when Malcolm starts getting excited, shouting, behaving strangely, saying lots of insults when… as Marie says, the review he’s talking about is pretty good.

5 - Music: crying and dancing

Music is essential in this film. Each song is particularly well chosen as it reflects the story very well. When Malcolm plays William Bell’s “I forgot to be your lover”, it’s an easy way to apologise but the lyrics of the song fit the plot very well. The same goes for the lyrics of “Selfish” by Little Simz. So it’s quite sad.
However, there’s also music that can make you want to dance. When the couple has just returned home and Malcolm plays “Down and out in New York City” (by James Brown and The J.B.’s) and starts dancing, it’s hard not to do the same. By alternating music that makes you want to move your body and music that brings you back to reality, this selection represents the contradictory atmosphere of the film. Happiness and sadness.

6 - The open ending

When the two characters go to bed, it is easy to wonder what the next day will be like. How do you wake up after that?
When Malcolm wakes up, he sees that Mary is no longer in their bed.
He starts looking for her. For a moment I thought she had left the house for good. Maybe at this point he realises that he really doesn’t want to lose her.
He goes out into the garden and finds her standing on a sort of hill.
Her back is to the camera. Malcolm approaches Mary and looks in the same direction as her. It’s as if they are talking to each other.
For me, it’s definitely an open ending. They might say “what do we do now?”.
She could be telling him she’s leaving him. But for me, the way they are lifted up, standing side by side, looking in the same direction, is quite symbolic: it’s a new day and, above all, the beginning of a new chapter. As if this night had been more than necessary. Things had to be said so that they could start again on a better basis. They know they hurt each other in the past, and in the future they will work on that.

Originally, I wanted to explain why I liked and disliked this film.
But as I was writing my article, I realized that even in the parts I disliked, I found things I liked. I liked the images, the music, but most of all I liked the way the vulnerability of these human beings is highlighted. Watching the cruelty, the tears, the wounds is hard, but it makes you think about yourself and your relationships.
Part of me would have liked to have known more about their relationship before this night. Knowing more about Marie’s life. Watching Malcolm’s film. Hearing his speech. Not watching an open ending…
But another part of me is satisfied with this film. Because it allows me to imagine the past as well as the future. It allows me to believe in Malcolm and Marie.