Premise: A director and his model girlfriend get into a long argument once they get home from the premiere of his new movie.
I almost don't know where to begin. My original thought of this movie when I finished watching it was that I wished it was in a language I didn't understand. That way, I could soak in the gorgeous black and white cinematography and be enthralled by Zendaya and John David Washington's performances, but I could ignore everything being said. Those two really are something in this. They go through a range of emotions. Everything that makes them stars in on display. It's the first truly grown-up role I've seen Zendaya in and I'm fully convinced she'll be just fine once she moves out of the high school and college roles (not that I was all that concerned before this). Similarly, it's nice to see that Washington in a movie stripped of all the plotting of his star making movies is just as electric. And those two steam up the screen throughout.
That said, fuck this movie. I can find more eloquent ways to say it, but that's really what it comes down to. Most of that ire goes to writer/director Sam Levinson, who made his stars into mouthpieces for a bunch of whining about people not understanding how brilliant he is. You see, Malcolm (Washington) and Marie (Zendaya) get home after the premiere of his movie. It's some film about a woman struggling with addiction that's not so subtlety about Marie, and it's a hit. Everyone in the theater loved it. He's finally being praised as a genius. He refuses to let himself be happy about it though. The same people praising him he calls phonies or fools who don't even understand his work. Meanwhile, Marie is pissed off with Malcolm for a variety of reasons that boil down to "he doesn't appreciate her" and he's really exhausting to be around. This is a pretty toxic relationship based on what we see in the film. At one point, Marie suggests that we're watching the worst argument they've even had, and I don't buy that for a second. We get glimpses of what they see in each other but not nearly enough to believe them ending up together is a good thing.
Honestly, the relationship discussion parts are fine. The parts that makes the movie insufferable are when they talk about movies, filmmaking, and "the industry". It pulls every cowardly and lazy trick in the book to shield itself from criticism. Malcolm goes on a rant about how critics couldn't possibly understand what a filmmaker is doing (That's not actually the point of criticism, by the way). Very smart. He "critic-proofs" the movie by attacking critics in the movie. That way, if anyone doesn't like your movie, it's because they're sour over being called out, not because the movie is actually bad. Levinson also employs the "Just kidding" tactic to say whatever he wants and not be held accountable for it. You know what I'm talking about. Someone says something really mean to you then adds "just kidding" at the end so no one can get mad at them. In Malcolm and Marie, it comes in the form of Malcolm going on long diatribes about how everyone in the world is inferior to him, then Marie laughs it off, calls him a jerk, or rolls her eyes. Levinson is trying to have his cake and eat it too. He gets to go on whatever whiny rant he wants then diffuse it by saying "No, it's meant to be funny". I do relate to Malcolm in one way though. People never tell me I'm right or wrong about things. They just tell me I think too much.
I'd also like to take a moment to ask Malcolm something. I'm obviously not asking Sam Levinson this, because Malcolm is just a character and not a direct mouthpiece for Levinson's most conceited impulses. Do you actually want people putting in that much time thinking about your work? That's his big complaint. Critics and fans of his talk about his movies like they get them and they don't. Just ask George Lucas how he feels about people investing years into examining his work. I'm sure Zemeckis isn't tired of answering Back to the Future questions either. The truth is, no filmmaker should want people to care as much about their movies as they do. That would suck if people dedicated as much time to examining the movie as the filmmaker did constructing and making it. Of course, Sam Levinson already knows this. I'm certain he's not using this movie as a petulant way to complain about how people don't get what he was doing in Assassination Nation and Euphoria.
Maybe Sam Levinson just needed to get this out of his system. I've routinely disliked his movies and shows so far, but I think that could change eventually. He has a talent for maximizing the performances from his casts. Euphoria and Malcolm & Marie are both visually distinctive and sometimes even beautiful, and I don't think that frequent cinematographer Macell Rev is responsible for all of it. I guess I remain unconvinced that Levinson is much of a writer.
Verdict: Weakly Don't Recommend
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