Sam Levinson’s Malcolm & Marie uses the timeless concept of the snowball effect, to illustrate the damaging impact of small disagreements on longstanding relationships.
What is the value of one night? An age-old question that puzzles beings of all ages. For children, one night might be staying up past their bedtime. For today’s youth, one night can mean meeting their forever person. For adults, one night can ruin the basis of their marriage.
Malcolm & Marie takes deadpan humour and passive-aggressiveness to another level with the witty but painful remarks made throughout the night. This film is not advertised as a love story, but as a story about love – and as you watch the duo’s relationship slowly deconstruct as the evening draws on, you’re put in an engaged position, caring deeply about the remarks they make to one another; something like the third piece in the puzzle.

MALCOLM & MARIE (L-R): ZENDAYA as MARIE, JOHN DAVID WASHINGTON as MALCOLM. DOMINIC MILLER/NETFLIX © 2021
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