Created during the ongoing global pandemic by Euphoria mastermind Sam Levinson, Netflix's latest drama Malcolm & Marie (starring Emmy-winning actor and Euphoria's Zendaya alongside Tenet's John David Washington) proves that you don't really need a lot of extra, flashy things to create an emotionally engaging film.
Taking place over the course of a single night, Malcolm & Marie follows a young couple, director/artist Malcolm (John David Washington) and model/actress Marie (Zendaya), as they arrive home after the glitzy theatrical premiere of the former's latest critically-acclaimed film. What's supposed to be the biggest, best night of his life quickly turns into an emotional rollercoaster as Malcolm's frustrations with critics and identity politics in the film industry, and Marie's frustrations with Malcolm not giving her the credit she deserves (both in real life and in his art) quickly start to air themselves out, resulting in a raw, intimate look at a modern relationship we don't often get to see.
PRIDE got to sit down with the film's stars as well as writer-director Sam Levinson about the creation of the film, and why identity is still an important aspect of the filmmaking process.
One of the many themes showcased in Malcolm & Marie is the role identity plays when it comes to the creation and consumption of art. Malcolm rightfully doesn't want to put into any singular box by critics and viewers simply because he is a Black director, and his discussions with Marie about the way his identity informs the decisions he makes as a storyteller is something that's rarely played out in movies themselves.
"I was writing a story about two Black characters that were in the film business, I thought, what is Malcolm not going to have any issues with Hollywood right now? Of course he is, so it felt natural to bring in the critique of the industry and also at the same time start to understand a little bit about not wanting to have your work dismissed as an artist because of your identity, which is in some ways the flip side of the way that we normally talk about it," Sam told PRIDE.
He continued:
"That's what makes filmmaking unique and beautiful and why diversity is so important to the film industry. It is a collision of identity on set. You're constantly bumping up against all of these other perspectives and life experiences and out of that if you listen to it, if you pay attention, and you care about it, you can maybe bottle something up that feels a bit more universal."
"I've just been grateful to be a part of these beautiful projects, and I do give that credit to Sam as well for being collaborative in that sense," Zendaya told PRIDE about being part of so many titles in her career where identity and inclusion were at the forefront. "I think he really does believe in true honest collaboration and bringing whatever it is that he writes and puts as much as he can personally into a character and then gives us the rest of it. A true testament of that is not only our collaboration with this movie, which we were able to bring our heart and our soul and our creativity into, but also in Euphoria. It's really exciting. We have Hunter, who has co-written an episode with him and I'm excited for that to come out because that's so special and for her to be able to have that creative input in a real, honest way. I think that is filmmaking. This amalgamation of a bunch of different things. Malcolm says it, and I think that it is so special and it is so important and I hope, at least in my career, to be able to continue to be a platform to allow other creatives to tell whatever story they want to tell and the space to be reflected and be seen on the big screen. I feel very lucky to hopefully be a part of that as I come even more into my producorial hat you know, and I understand it even more. I hope that that will be the impact that I make."
Malcolm & Marie hits Netflix on Friday, February 5. Watch the trailer below!
