Malcolm & Marie Movie Review: A never-ending relationship rant that’s raw but only surface level compelling

STORY: Writer-director Malcolm (John David Washington) and his partner Marie (Zendaya) return from the premiere of his latest movie. Thrilled with the positive feedback, he is emphatic and hopeful about his film’s critical acclaim. Marie on the contrary couldn’t care less. She is upset because he forgets to mention her in his thank you speech. Tension mounts as the two get into a series of heated arguments that shuttle between the good, the bad and the ugly.REVIEW: Movies that make you feel like a fly on the wall are engrossing because we are inherently voyeuristic. Watching people at their uninhibited and vulnerable best offers a raw, unfiltered glimpse into their lives and thoughts. Director Sam Levinson tries to use this human psyche in his favour. His story has no beginning or end. You catch it midway as you watch a bickering couple — a filmmaker and his girlfriend, going at each other on one night. Shot cinematically in black and white and set entirely in one location (the house)... it all looks very classic Hollywood. However, once you dig dipper, the conflict that drives the narrative isn’t compelling enough for you to be invested.She calls his work ‘mediocre’ and he taunts her by recalling her drug addiction phase and mental imbalance. Even as things get ugly between the two, the film oscillates between fleeting moments of lust and solace and then back to cruel verbal spats. The jibes aren’t restricted to their personal lives, relationship and behaviour but cinema and it’s social impact, politics of race, male vs female gaze, film criticism, woke culture and more.Marie thinks her life is the source material for Malcolm’s movie and so the acknowledgement was essential. You can’t borrow someone’s life and pretend it’s not just solely theirs. As the night proceeds, you realise her issue is not just the movie but his knack of taking her for granted in life, in general. Some lines are painfully real and strike a chord, especially the ones that signify the difference between how men and women perceive relationships. Men think they are non confrontational but have the ability to do more damage with their indifference. Women may seem vocal but they internalise pain a lot more. Had Levinson stayed true to gender dynamics, love-hate friction and boundaries in love, Malcolm & Marie would have been a lot more engaging.The verbose film loses its grip in the first 15 minutes itself when the couple’s cinema related arguments seem manipulative and lack authenticity. They give an impression that Levinson has preempted the criticism to this film and wrote dialogues beforehand that defend his own filmmaking. ‘Films don’t need to have a message, what’s the big deal about authenticity, what do critics know, etc. Every dialogue that Malcolm says feels like a justification for the very existence of this movie.Ironically, Zendaya’s Marie struts around in a braless ganji and undies, as she speaks of men sexualising women in cinema. She calls out Malcolm’s egotistical behaviour but their arguments keep digressing and it all loses steam. After a point the unnecessary noise and drama gets so amplified that you don’t want the the two to gravitate towards each other again. Both do not leave a single stone unturned to get even, by spouting the most hurtful things. Zendaya in perhaps her most mature role till date, is moderately effective if not spectacular. John David Washington makes you feel nothing.Love isn’t a bed of roses and arguments are inevitable, we get it. But does this never-ending spat deserve an audience or have an universal appeal? Not really. The conversation lacks authenticity and feels orchestrated. The film is so slow moving that hours feel like days and the couple’s arguments are separated momentarily by monotonous peeing, bathing,smoking sessions. The film lacks the gravitas needed to elevate a rant into a meaningful conversation about disagreements.