Stiff Acting and Pretentious Screenplay Hurt “Malcolm and Marie”

by Seth Tew Self-esteem can be a monster. Feelings of inadequacy or arrogance can make every moment in a relationship a fight for respect and recognition. In “Malcolm and Marie,” the fight goes from personal to relational and back again for its two characters: Malcolm (John David Washington), a breakout film director, and Marie (Zendaya), a former actress and Malcolm’s girlfriend. For a film named after both its characters, its story starts and ends with the struggles of Marie, whose ...