Malcolm & Marie - Movie Review

Critic Score - 6 of 10

General Audience Score - 5 of 10

Malcolm and Marie are a young couple that are working through some issues, they may indeed need to start seeing some kind of therapist. As portrayed in last years Marriage Story, the challenges of a relationship can often be a fascinating subject for film. But is the Malcolm & Marie rollercoaster ride worth taking?

PROS - Marriage and or the relationship dynamics between two individuals in love are the central themes to many an excellent movie. Malcolm and Marie are no exception to this and prove to be fascinating subjects for our inspection though the course of the evening. The acting is very good and may even stray into the realm of great at times. The performances carry the film along, on their own merits the only two people we see on screen the entirety of the movie are exceptionally talented. Even if they don’t hit the same levels of exceptional work as displayed in Marriage Story. Johansson and Driver were rewarded with many acting accolades that Zendaya and Washington will almost certainly not be.

This black and white film is also beautiful to look at. The house they occupy allows for some truly stunning visuals and sequences that really capture a level of beauty not found in many other movies. The soundtrack is bouncy and upbeat and keeps the viewer in the mood for what the film is building on during the opening act. But that’s about when the film takes a turn for the worse.

CONS - The final two acts of the film are comprised almost entirely of **spoliers** arguments. These come in the form of monologue after monologue that bog the movie way down. During the first couple you're on board with these characters, it's been interesting so far. But as they keep coming and coming, eventually you wonder what the screenwriter was doing, forcing as many into a script as it could possibly hold. The writing starts to go way over the top by the third act and is almost laughable by the end when Zendaya has a final speech in which she uses "thank you" about as many times as Dido does in her song of the same name.

The overall story is alright and some of the lines are acted very well as mentioned, but by the end you've completely disengaged with these characters as you sit around just waiting for the next fight to break out. It all becomes a predictable ordeal you want very little part of and in the ending scene we all get what we've come to crave. Some well earned silence.

SUMMARY - The acting, cinematography and music of Malcolm & Marie is as great at getting you invested in these two as the writing does in the second half at making you want out. General audiences may be somewhat entertained for portions and these two are easy on the eyes. But the hollow feeling you'll have in the end may make you look back fondly to the time before you were introduced to Malcolm and Marie.