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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2021 • THE BULLETIN
MOVIES & SHOWTIMES
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Messy relationship makes messy movie
BY MAKENZIE WHITTLE
The Bulletin
More Information
W
riter-director Sam Levinson flips
the bird to critics in the Netflix
original “Malcolm and Marie.”
The two-hander — conceived, written,
filmed and edited all during quarantine
— stars John David Washington and Zen-
daya (who is incredible) as the title charac-
ters who return to their cool, modern glass
house after the premiere of Malcolm’s latest
film, which he wrote and directed. He’s on
the highest high, streaming James Brown
over the home’s surround sound system
while Marie sets off first for the bathroom
and then for the kitchen, where she boils
water to make Kraft macaroni and cheese.
Malcolm waxes on about how the crowd
loved it, how the critics ate it up and the
white reviewers called him the next insert-
name-of-Black-filmmaker-here.
He laughs at their ignorance, their avoid-
ance of comparing him to someone like
William Wyler instead relegating him to an-
other director of color.
Soon he realizes that while Marie is listen-
ing, she’s not nearly as excited as he is about
the night.
As it turns out, Malcolm forgot to thank
her during his speech before the screening.
She’s upset but mentions that nothing good
would come out of anything said that night.
While this line is foreshadowing the
events to follow, it’s also foreshadowing the
effect the film has. Nothing good comes out
of it.
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Zendaya and John David Washington in a scene from “Malcolm and Marie” streaming on Netflix.
The couple begins arguing about every-
thing from credit, Marie’s past addictions
and transgressions and Malcolm’s motiva-
tions for sticking with her, coming down to
moments of some levity and clarity for both
of them in between shouting matches that
would wake the neighbors, if they had any.
But the crux of the film, instead of being
about Malcolm and Marie’s five-year rela-
tionship — which does feels reasonable and
authentic — is more about the interpreta-
tion of art and filmmaking.
Levinson, a white filmmaker who had
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Reporter: 541-383-0304, mwhittle@bendbulletin.com
Romances to put you in the mood for Valentine’s Day
BY MAKENZIE WHITTLE
The Bulletin
525 NW
Colorado
Ave
recent success with “Euphoria” on HBO,
throws his characters into a constant ebb
and flow of arguing and hurting one an-
other. But what’s said is not constructive to
their relationship; instead, most of it involves
Malcolm railing on the state of criticism in
the film industry notably against white crit-
ics, specifically a woman at the Los Angeles
Times who gave him a bad review once.
It’s frustrating to try and sit through one
lengthy monologue after another with ar-
guments that feel more petulant than a con-
structive exploration of filmmaking, Black
filmmakers and the question of authenticity.
And there is a lot that can be argued about
criticism in the film industry, but Levinson
misses the point every single time.
Malcolm doesn’t necessarily delve into
the state of their relationship. Instead Wash-
ington is used as a conduit to deliver the
scathing remarks Levinson wants out there,
seemingly laying out that he and the film
are above reproach in some way. He feels
like that guy in the MFA film program that
you just want to slap across his face when he
tries to lecture you on Quentin Tarantino.
Add in the fact that the film is far too
long, which makes it even more uninterest-
ing and nearly unwatchable.
It’s loquacious and impassioned, but the
powerhouse performance can’t save this
battle from being too self-absorbed in its
metatheatrics to allow “Malcolm and Marie”
to stick to the viewer.
et in the mood for Valentine’s Day
Sunday with these sexy and sweet
romances. Or curl up with your cho-
sen favorite pint of ice cream and relish that
#singlelife while watching all the drama that
comes with relationships, knowing that you
don’t have to deal with it.
Continuing on from last week’s list cele-
brating Black voices, here are five love sto-
ries featuring African American writers, di-
rectors and actors to watch this week.
“Love & Basketball” (2000) — The com-
edy-drama finds itself in the special spot of
being both a sports movie and a love story.
Q (Omar Epps) and Monica (Sanaa Lathan)
grow up together dreaming of being basket-
ball pros. Over the course of the movie’s four
quarters, we see their relationship deepen
and break but their drive to make it never
ceases. Writer-director Gina Prince-Bythe-
wood weaves a brilliant story told mostly
from Monica’s perspective that tunes into
the emotions behind the game rather than
the play-by-play action all while showcas-
ing tantalizing chemistry between its leads.
Stream it on HBO Max or rent it from Am-
azon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu or
YouTube.
“Moonlight” (2016) — Not only is the
Barry Jenkins’ Oscar-winning film a love
story of sorts, but it is also a brilliant and
beautifully done coming-of-age story. High-
lighting three phases of the main character’s
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