Malcom & Marie

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The film starts with the credits, much like older films once did, or perhaps representing the ending of the film that this one is about. The credits play out against a peaceful beach house background; it’s the only peace we will get until the end. Moments later, Malcom (John David Washington) and Marie (Zendaya) burst into the house. She looks exhausted and annoyed. He’s exuberant. And we are in for the first brilliant scene of the night. While she stands on the patio smoking, he paces on and off screen in a spinning circle, talking about the premier of his directorial debut, whose party they just came from. His excitement bleeds easily into ranting about the White reduction of Black artists. This film is all jagged teeth and sharp edges, and everyone’s going to get cut up before the night is through, including the audience. Soon, Malcom’s giddiness will turn into anger and accusation, and over the course of a long night, these two will go at each other. The film will cycle between lulls, laughter, and viciousness over and over to a point that is exhausting, and that seems to be the point. Fights between lovers can be messy because they are rarely about what they are really about. Here, we see Marie and Malcom circle closer and closer to the truth of what has really upset her. But first, she has to wind her way through his ego, past his gaslighting, to wear down his defenses, so that he can finally hear her. Zendaya’s performance is magnificent. She is far more subtle than Washington and conveys so much on her face. She is far less moving when she is screaming than when her heart is quietly breaking. This is an Oscar-level performance. Washington also does the best work of his I have seen. He is all explosive energy, but the audience can see that it’s bluster hiding a frightened boy. He doesn’t seem to know how to be with her if he isn’t controlling the narrative. And, he tries many ways throughout the night to manipulate her and avoid responsibility: tantruming, sweet-talking, changing the subject, playing dumb, verbal abuse, ad hominem attacks, straw man arguments, and anything else that can help him avoid hearing and validating her feelings.  This film was about many many things, but first and foremost, it was about the dynamics between men and women. Another serious Oscar contender should be cinematographer Marcell Rév. This may be the most gorgeously shot film I have seen this year. Rév’s use of the space of the house was just stunning. He used walls and vertical lines to cut the screen in interesting ways. Every scene was just a joy visually. And the music was just as important, at times speaking for the two characters, sometimes melodramatically, sometimes honestly. There is a broader truth in the way these two people fight, and the way Marie insists on being heard. This is a story about the ways some of us do or don’t speak up, and the ways that some of us do or don’t listen. It’s about the ways that some people can sublimate their needs, and the ways that their partners can encourage them to do so. If you come out of this film unscathed, you weren’t paying attention. This long, ugly, exhausting battle may wear you down, but it won’t leave you bored.