A film prepared and shot during COVID-19 can be a gamble in this climate – but present it with the invigorating talents of John David Washington and Zendaya, and you could have a winning recipe for success, perhaps even at the Oscars. “Malcolm & Marie” is an actor’s showcase, using the most exquisite instincts and sensibilities of his performers, who could find space to squeeze into the main performance races.
Written and directed by Sam Levinson, the film tells the story of Malcolm, a director, and his girlfriend Marie, who, over the course of a night after the premiere of their latest film, examine the ups and downs of their relationship while awaiting responses from critics.
Do you know what Oscar loves more than movies? Films about “the movies”. Sprinkle with a director struggling to express his art through cinema, and voters at the Academy, especially men, will be salivating with his premise and execution. Washington’s best work already surpasses its work on Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman”, which just lost the Oscar edition. Cementing its place as the future of the Hollywood industry, this may be your entry into the graces of the Academy.
Zendaya is one of the biggest stars in the world, slowly but assertively, exhibiting her performance from box office hits like “Spider-Man: Homecoming” to HBO’s hit “Euphoria” series, for which she became the second woman black woman to win best actress in a dramatic series in 2019. Can she overtake or enter the race for best actress this year, as dynamic and competitive as ever? It is possible, and to imagine a schedule that includes her alongside Viola Davis, the first black woman to an Emmy for best actress in a dramatic series, will be a moment of passing the baton for the next wave of several artists.
Zendaya and John David Washington in “Malcolm & Marie”
DOMINIC MILLER / NETFLIX © 2021
Outside of the acting categories, Levinson will be the favorite among a certain demographic in the director’s business, who see the film as a living metaphor for his entire existence. There may be a more reasoned and less impressed group of filmmakers, especially writers, who will struggle with exaggerated dialogue. It reminded me of the story behind Darren Aronofsky’s “mother”! which covered the entire range of film criticism with its divisive reception. It was widely reported that Aronofsky wrote the film in a single weekend. Comparing it to Levinson, who wrote the script in eight days, this beginning and creation probably served as an echo chamber of personal feelings. The Academy in general may have trouble responding to this, but these types of predictions can be difficult to read at first.
Marcell Rév’s photograph is exquisitely elaborate and could find love with members of that branch.
There will be history to be made if enough voters agree when it comes to the category of best film. Along with Levinson and his wife Ashley Levinson, Washington and Zendaya act as producers. If one of the other Netflix films, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”, is nominated alongside “Malcolm & Marie”, Washington, along with his father Denzel, would be the first father and son pair to be nominated alongside the other on category history.
If Zendaya is nominated for best film, she scores many record-breaking boxes. She would be the second black woman to be nominated in the category after Oprah Winfrey for “Selma” 2014. She would also be the most nominated black woman in a single year in history, drawing with Mary J. Blige.
It is also worth noting, if she was nominated alongside any of the black actresses in the Oscar contest, including Nicole Beharie (“Miss Juneteenth”), Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”) and Andra Day (“The States United vs. Billie Holiday ”), It would be the second time that more than one black woman would be nominated in the same year as best actress.
At 24, she would be the youngest nominee for female production in the history of the categories. Even more important, if nominated for a film and an actress, she would be the first woman to be nominated for acting and production. Frances McDormand of “Nomadland” is also about to break the same record.
Not to mention that Washington and Zendaya would be the first nominees to also be nominated for the film, if that happened.
When it comes to winning, which is very close to being called in this expansive field of actresses, if she wins the odds, she joins Halle Berry as a black woman to win the category in 93 years. She may also be the first actress since Helen Mirren to win an Emmy and an Oscar in the same year. Finally, she would be the fifth youngest winner of all time, beating Audrey Hepburn in “Roman Holiday” in 1953, days behind Joan Fontaine in “Suspicion” in 1941.
A great feat and definitely an uphill battle. Everything could break your way.
“Malcolm & Marie” will be released on Netflix on February 5.