Film Review: Netflix’s “Malcolm & Marie” Teach Us the 6th Love Language — Argument

DuEwa Frazier
6 min readFeb 10, 2021
Zendaya and John David Washington as “Malcolm & Marie” on Netflix

Malcolm and Marie. What can I say about this quarrelsome pair? Well, I’ve already said it. Quarrelsome. But let me start from the beginning.

Scene 1. The cinematography gives the look of a two-person dramatic play. The colors are drab even though the actors in front of us are striking. A tired couple comes home from a glamorous, well attended Hollywood film awards show. The conversation between the couple reveals to the viewer that Malcolm was awarded a coveted honor for his recent film. I’m intrigued. A movie about a Black filmmaker, I’m all in.

The couple, Malcolm and Marie talk but there’s something that isn’t being said. There’s tension. Malcolm goes on and on, ranting about some film critic or another who doesn’t know films. He’s upset. Even though he’s just been honored. He mentions an L.A. Times writer. He also throws out names of great filmmakers. Spike Lee and others. Oh, he’s one of those.

I get the sense that Malcolm is very arrogant. He’s young, professional, handsome, and obviously making money. He lives in a really nice house. Has been honored for his art and has a beautiful young girlfriend. Well, much younger girlfriend.

Twenty-five minutes into watching the film, I get a sense that Marie is depressed and uneasy…

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