Sam Levinson wrote and directed Malcolm & Marie, a powerfully acted emotional dramedy, starring Zendaya and John David Washington.
The title characters of the movie blend art and love, resulting in some revealing and painful truths about their relationship.
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A filmmaker (Washington) returns home with his girlfriend (Zendaya) following a celebratory movie premiere as he awaits what’s sure to be imminent critical and financial success.
Marie is a former actress and drug addict who now supports her boyfriend’s career, but, after being left out of Malcolm’s speech at the premiere, is fed up with being second to his art.
The evening suddenly takes a turn as revelations about their relationships begin to surface, testing the strength of their love.
At the center of the argument is the need for authenticity, which leads to some ugly behavior and painful truths.
Malcolm is so absorbed in his art that he is barely present for his relationship, thus making Marie feel neglected as a person and only visible to him as a fiction he can use as material for his film.
It seems that the only way Marie can communicate with Malcolm is through performance. Marie thinks Malcolm’s raging soliloquy about a review that doesn’t understand his vision is endearing, and Malcolm professes his love for Marie after she performs an emotional scene to prove that she can act.
Zendaya as Marie
John David Washington as Malcolm
Sam Levinson, the son of Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson, is best known as the creator of the HBO teen drama series Euphoria (2019–present), for which he earned a BAFTA TV Award nomination. He also wrote and directed the serio comedy, Another Happy Day (2011), and the black comedy thriller Assassination Nation (2018).
He co-wrote the screenplay for the action comedy Operation: Endgame (2010), the television biopic The Wizard of Lies (2017), and the erotic thriller Deep Water (2020).
