SO good if you mute it

Malcolm would hate letterboxd

if theaters were still open this review would probably be about how someone would groan “oh my god shut UP” or “this guy fucking SUCKS” every few minutes and the whole audience would burst into applause

Ok I am a WGA member so they sent me the screenplay and I wanted to share the whole thing with you guys! Enjoy!

INT. MALCOM AND MARIE’S HOUSE
Jazz is playing. It is in black and white because the stars are Black even though life? Is white.
Malcolm: Marie!
Marie: Malcolm!
Malcom: Marie. Marie. Marie!
Marie: Malcolm?
Malcolm: Marie....
Marie: you are black. 
Malcolm: no *I* am black.
Marie: brb going to make mac and cheese or light a cigarette
Malcolm: ok Barry Jenkins Spike Lee John Singleton WILLIAM WYLER
Marie: Malcolm!!!! 😤
Malcolm: MARIE!!! 😭

Fin.

felt like i was plankton in that scene where he eats the holographic meatloaf but this time the meatloaf wouldn’t stop whining

jesus christ, just go to bed and discuss this in the morning

25

Just horrendous. These great actors are nothing but mouthpieces for Sam Levinson's pretentious musings on film criticism (which in 2021 is irrelevant anyway) and self-importance in their professional lives. Often strives for theatricality, as seen with the smoking/bathroom breaks between the action (ie: the arguing), but the writing fails to keep up. John David Washington and Zendaya are doing all the heavy lifting because the screenplay struggles to provide interest. We hardly learn anything about why these two are together, or why they're so determined to push forward with the relationship. And so much of Malcolm's toxicity is viewed as a by-product of his genius. Boring! Empty! Who cares! You don't need to watch this, the discourse is already over.

I do wonder if this will be a new genre, though. "Getting a bad review from Indiewire and then making a movie response to it."

So the privileged son of a famous rich director once received a bad review from a woman for a shitty movie he made and his response was to make an even shittier movie? And he uses a black actor to monologue his wah wah whining? So if he makes it about race it doesn’t seem quite as indulgent? But pretends it’s an edgy movie about a relationship? Cool.

Unpleasant and empty and embarrassing. Both actors deserve better. And so do we.

comes off as something intriguing but soon enough the script makes it crystal clear that it’s written by a nepotism baby with a god complex, and that element alone completely took me out way too often. zendaya and john sold the SHIT out of this, but with sam at the helm i wasn’t looking to buy what it was selling in the first place

Whoa: black & white!

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

that a white man made this is actually insane. so much "dialogue blackface" (to quote miriam). levinson also seems to not grasp the basics of how a woman functions (peeing outside in a ball gown and stockings??) and he owes zendaya so much for giving it her all, the film truly does not deserve her. the way i rolled my eyes at how she gets progressively more naked — nipples poking through her tank, pants off, legs as set decoration — and then it becomes some meta commentary at the end (meanwhile JDW's tie doesn't loosen until, what, an hour in? lol). it's so fucking cringe how hung up levinson is on that "white lady from the LA Times" — remember, the comment on her whiteness essentially comes not from malcolm but local caucasian sam levinson himself.

It's trying too hard to become a classic and it failed miserably.

Everything that comes out of Malcolm's mouth feels like a Twitter fight. The writing is so weird. They go on speeches that feel written and inspirational, but the next line feels completely empty and it sounds like a page filler.

I wanted to give this movie a chance because I didn't believe it was that bad but damn, none of the characters are redeemable. The only good thing about it was the originality of the shots and the black and white filter. And the actors where alright too. They didn't deserve these empty characters whose only emotions are pride. Hornyness and pride.

The one star is purely for the camera angles. I liked them.

sometimes nepotism is a bad idea

You hear about a movie secretly filmed during quarantine starring Zendaya & John David Washington. You have Zendaya coming off a phenomenal first season of Euphoria which earned her an Emmy Award. You have John David who is one of the stars of HBO Ballers as well as 2018 Award season darling BlacKkKlansman. You think to yourself “This is gonna be one iconic film.” Upon watching this film I hate to say it, but I was extremely disappointed. My disappointment came only from the story though which felt like a never ending argument. The performances by the actors themselves were superb and emotionally resonant.

a atuação? EXCELENTE! é zendaya amor, nossa rue, nossa drogadinha... mas o roteiro é meio lixo mesmo entendendo o conceito e etc

Stunning & ambitious, but also exhausting, egotistical, and horribly overindulgent.

Sounds like a white guy wrote it but zendaya and JDW turn out really good performances

This is the film equivalent of hot people being trash and boring.

how is she even real

This movie was wonderful and very well written. I can see why it wouldn’t be for everyone since it’s heavy on dialogue and reminiscent of a stage play. The black and white cinematography was gorgeous, the chemistry between Zendaya and John David Washington exploded like fireworks on the 4th of July out of my TV screen, and I think anyone whose been in a relationship will find at least some of the their dynamic relatable. Every one of us wants to be loved and appreciated, and this film is about how despite that, due to a multitude of reasons (mostly fear and insecurity), we can still push love away — as well as take it for granted.

é muito bom, mas não tenho vontade de ver de novo, porque chega a ser exaustivo ver eles brigando tanto, e principalmente ver o malcolm falando tanta merda pra marie. ainda assim, acho legal o jeito que o diretor usa o filme pra falar sobre a visão das pessoas sobre o cinema e arte em geral.