As one of the notable names in this year’s awards season, the newly released Malcolm & Marie did not disappoint the audience with the mesmerizing rhythm and visuals. Under the hands of Sam Levinson from the script to the director, Malcolm & Marie was completely completed during the quarantine season when the crew was just over 10 people and 2 main actors in 1 scene. single rotation.
Without choosing a complicated narrative, Malcolm & Marie is simply a dialogue between two lovers on a night of mixed joy and sadness. Returning from the premiere of his quite successful debut film, young director Malcolm ( John David Washington ) and his lover Marie ( Zendaya ) had not yet had time to celebrate, but had plunged into a heated controversy for countless reasons. oh my god.” After all the frustrated muse for not being sincerely thanked, it was the artist’s turn to pull out his ex-lover as a “weapon”. Love makes them fight and then makes them cuddle passionately. Through the quiet night will be one by one truth revealed to test the true love of Malcolm and Marie.
A complete guide to “angry but love” when you fall in love
Even the slogan on the poster of Malcolm & Marie has to affirm: “Madly In Love” (roughly translated: “Crazy love”) proves that no one is normal when it comes to love! The story of Malcolm and Marie is a typical example of this saying when they were just about to rush into madness, and quickly turned to endless love.
Like many other couples, the reason for Marie to be angry with Malcolm always revolves around a bunch of unintentional acts but contains a deep “damage”. She was sad because her lover forgot to thank her in public, even though she was also an inspiration for the movie that had just been released. And he is fed up with the endless demands emanating from his “flabby” lover. Those who have been and are in love will surely be familiar with this uncomfortable feeling of discord when one side suddenly blames and the other doesn’t understand what the hell is going on!
Is it possible to operate a love affair, need two contrasting pigments like black and white film color? Because love should be jealous, because love should be obsessed with being left behind, because love should sulk over old stories… During a long night (or almost 2 hours of movie time later), the main character couple still didn’t stop dragging reasons up and down to satisfy the disgruntled ego. Interspersed with shouting and cursing is silence, then the sound of passionate love, then back to the original state of contradiction. The good thing about Malcolm & Marie is that it makes it difficult for viewers to distinguish between winners and losers – sometimes Marie is sensitive, childish to the point of difficulty – sometimes Malcolm is arrogant, terrifyingly arrogant. But then “smash” each other in the face with many insulting words, then between two people who truly love each other, there is still a strong bond, true to the standard “love each other, bite each other painfully”.
Enchanting visual feast even in black and white
The form of black and white storytelling clearly brings two opposing “light – dark” arrays that match perfectly with the rhythmic “controversy – reconciliation” of the two main characters. In an interview with The Things, the female lead Zendaya once expressed that the choice to make black and white films came from the idea of ”freezing” time. According to the film crew, this idea is also a tribute to the golden age in Hollywood, recalling the pure romantic beauty of cinema through black and white tones.
The film’s context continues to be a plus point when it’s only done in a house and still has a full angle from the dining room, bedroom to the bathroom. Specifically, each scene is not too technical but has a “cinema” character, combining just enough between still scenes and panning to create a fast and slow pace according to the words.
The most notable in the context design of Malcolm & Marie is probably in the outside, because the moment the character goes out to the garden only appears 3 times, matching each stage: Marie angry – Malcolm angry – both reconcile. Some other impressive scenes in the film are also cleverly arranged to heighten the emotions, such as: Marie’s hastily cooked Macaroni, the mirror scene, the scene sitting on the porch listening to music…
Zendaya and John David Washington’s mature acting
The portrayal of Zendaya and John David Washington in the film is receiving a lot of praise from critics, including two acting awards for Zendaya at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and from the Hollywood Critics Association. (HCA).
Zendaya – “Disney princess” once and Spiderman’s girlfriend today transforms in the role of the charming muse Marie. Before that, her strength was demonstrated through the series Euphoria and the prestigious Emmy Award. Zendaya’s return this time is indeed more spectacular because the role requires a complex interior, making viewers “hold their breath” before the immaculately ripe charisma.
John David Washington as the “arrogant guy” Malcolm is equally smooth when flexibly switching from love to anger in a split second. As the son of famous actor Denzel Washington, John is also gradually proving his “dominant genes” through a variety of roles. From biopic BlacKkKlansman to action blockbuster Tenet , he’s unafraid to try out different sets of characters and the same goes for this pure romance Malcolm & Marie .
