People all over the internet have been eagerly anticipating the newest black and white, emotionally intense Zendaya film, Malcolm & Marie, ever since its trailer premiered on Jan. 8. Zendaya is currently the youngest woman to have ever won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in the award-winning series, Euphoria.
When the trailer for Malcolm & Marie was first revealed, several fans were excited to see Zendaya in a brand new movie. The film was later released on Feb. 5, 2021, nearly a month after its trailer on Netflix.
“This is not a love story, this is a story about love.”
While written by Sam Levinson and later filmed in only 14 days during quarantine, there have already been many mixed reviews about the movie since its premiere. The film is based on Levinson’s experiences in the filmmaking industry, and uses his film to portray this. However, it also truly digs deeper into the realities of love and how it can be to love another person; the struggles and the rawness of love within relationships. It especially digs even deeper into the toxicity, jealousy, anger and even prior drug addiction with the constant back and forth of their relationship; all the good and the bad.
Malcolm, who is played by John David Washington, is portrayed as an egotistical filmmaker who seems to only care about himself and his status. He constantly talks down to Marie, causing constant fights between the two. Marie on the other hand, played by Zendaya, is the muse for Malcolm’s films and constantly goes unnoticed and feels unappreciated by Malcolm, mainly because he failed to mention her in his speech for the movie he made.
Zendaya shares post via Instagram with a lengthy caption hours prior to the release
“If there’s anything you learn from this year, and I hope from our little movie, it’s gratitude for every moment and every person we get to love,” she wrote, “To stop and acknowledge the people in our lives who make it possible to do the work we do and honestly, make life worth living.”
Related: Malcolm and Marie: A Flop or a Bop?
Outstanding performances on both sides
Both Zendaya and John David Washington had powerful leading roles and made a great overall performance for only filming this movie in 14 days. The two very well represented the roles they were given and many reviews touched on that aspect as well.
“On behalf of our little crew of 22, we hope you laugh (please laugh lol) and cry,” Zendaya wrote, “And hopefully enjoy this little thing we made with a whole lot of love.”
