REVIEW | Malcolm & Marie

2021 | 1hr 46mins | Drama, Romance | Rated 15 | Dir. Sam Levison

Rolling with the pandemic punches that necessitated the temporary shutdown of their HBO show Euphoria, Zendaya, the show’s star, suggested making a film to Sam Levinson, the show’s creator. Levinson got writing, and using the crew from Euphoria, Malcolm and Marie was shot under covid-compliant conditions during the summer of 2020.

 

The film begins when hot young director, Malcolm (John David Washington) and Marie (Zendaya) his partner, a former actress, return from the premiere of Malcolm’s new movie. Malcolm is giddy with the success of the night and wants to carry on the party, but he forgot to thank Marie in his pre-movie speech. Marie, who has supported Malcolm through the gestation of the film is naturally cross about this, and so begins a night of impassioned fighting between the couple that covers such diverse subjects as sex, artistic authenticity, the role of the critic, the entertainment industry and what it means to be a person of colour working in it. 

Malcolm & Marie is shot in chic, high key black and white on film, like a perfume advert, and begins with a classic block of credits. These choices are striking, but they are also clichés. Starting his film in this way, Levinson is either tongue-in-cheek, or lacking in self-awareness. Once we meet Malcolm though, what is going on becomes clear. Malcolm is someone for whom an encyclopedic knowledge of cinema is a significant part of his personality. Across the film, Malcolm brings up a litany of directors from the past, with very few contemporary references, and he shows disdain for people who lack the understanding that he has. The clichéd style perfectly skewers the type of film maker that Malcolm apparently is. These style choices are exactly the kind of affectations Malcolm would be unable to resist putting into one of his own films, to ape the style of his heroes. Levinson is satirising this overly reverent form of film making. One might think that Levinson is articulating his own frustrations as a director through the angered Malcolm. However, as Malcolm builds his tower of self-importance and the arguments progress, his pretentions appear ever more ridiculous and it seems inconceivable that Levinson could align himself with the character. So, when Malcolm vents his feelings about the inadequacies of critics and their approach, rather than this being a targeted attack on critics, it really is part of a larger attempt to deflate the pomposity of filmic discourse — of both critics and professionals in the industry.

The dialogue of Malcolm & Marie feels overworked and unnatural, as though the characters have rehearsed the points their argument will cover, having prepared long, dramatic and verbose rebuttals. Through their magnetic, overwrought performances, however, John David Washington and Zendaya make it all sound believable. The chemistry between the pair is strong enough even to make their toxic relationship holding together appear conceivable, despite the animosity on show. This is a difficult movie to enjoy, though: watching the pair repeatedly point score against each other, and with little respite, the film becomes exhausting.

- Oliver Carey

LOVE LETTER | Odeon Silver Cinema Screenings

Odeon | Over 55's Screenings

Before the pandemic hit, I would visit my local cinema perhaps twice or three times a week. It didn’t really matter what was on; for me, the cinematic experience is compelling enough in itself that actually liking what is on the screen is a bonus. Sitting in a cinema allows you to pause your thoughts and life for a time, and step outside of the everyday. It is addictive. I miss the cinema. The weekly Odeon Silver Cinema screenings held at my local Odeon, have always been a highlight of my visits. Whenever my work pattern allowed it, I would make sure to be there. While the Odeon website details that these screenings are for ‘our guests who are over-55’, I am a good few years younger than this, and have always managed to get in (which might actually say something about how old I look!). The films shown at these screenings are a few months behind the contemporary release schedule, but at only £3, or £3.50 for a premier seat, with a cup of tea or coffee and biscuits, they are a real bargain.

There are two cinemas local to me, the Odeon, and a Vue. Both of these show a consistent schedule of mainstream Hollywood movies, which are generally satisfying, but sometimes I crave something a bit different to watch on the big screen as well. The Odeon Silver Cinema screenings offer a sort of multiplex cheat-code for a regional cineaste like me. Despite being a few months behind, the films shown by this program offer more variety than the up to date schedule. It was Silver Cinema visits that meant I could catch films like If Beale Street Could Talk, and Carol, on the big screen, when neither film had been shown locally on its initial release.

The Odeon is usually quiet, with screenings sometimes feeling like a bespoke service put on just for me. The decadence of having a whole cinema screen to myself is certainly preferable to sharing it with a row of people on their phones, chatting and not paying attention to the screen. But I would always exchange the solitude to share a cinema with a Silver Screening audience. Whatever is showing, the screening rooms are always buzzing and packed. It is only Marvel or Star Wars movie midnight showings that fill the cinema up to the same levels. Each film is introduced by one of the members of staff, who the regulars gently heckle. When they finish and the film begins, the real joy of these events becomes evident. Like a crowd watching fireworks, they make collective appreciative noises as every plot nuance is revealed. I do not think I will ever forget hearing 120 people ’oooooh’ like intrigued school children, as Emily Blunt and Matt Damon kissed in The Adjustment Bureau. If a film is less than good, and begins to lose the audience, a comedic pseudo-directors commentary begins as the crowd try to make sense of what is going on, on the screen. I have had to stifle many giggles, as the audience around me make a mediocre film memorable with their insight.

My local Odeon has been closed since March, following lockdown 1. It is incredibly sad to walk past it on my daily route to work. With the future of cinemas uncertain, and the target Silver Cinema audience most at risk from the virus, it is hard to know when one of these screenings might take place again. Though with news of vaccines comes a glimmer of hope; I can already smell the free cup of coffee held in the arm rest drinks holder of my seat, and hear the hushed chatter as the screening room begins to go dark for the Odeon Silver Cinema to start again.

- Oliver Carey