Love in Noir: Black Love on the Big, Small Screen
Netflix will soon bring to its viewers the newest big budget Black love film since Issa Rae and Lakeith Stanfield blessed both our screens and our eyes in The Photograph last February. This was, of course, pre-pandemic, more than half of the world not knowing what was to occur a month from then. However, even with the universal trials and hardships that Covid-19 has presented, the film industry has not quite failed to bring us at least a bit of entertainment. In this case, a bit is quite the understatement as Malcolm and Marie starring Zendaya and the 36-year-old son of film star Denzel Washington, John David Washington, bring us a beautifully raw story of Black love.
Though not much has been revealed in regards to the contents of the film, Malcolm and Marie is said to depict the story of a filmmaker coming home from a premiere to his awaiting girlfriend. Soon, tension and discourse unfolds regarding past relationships. The story depicts the struggles of their relationship as they communicate and also incorporates current social issues. Many pre-reviews even depict the film as being akin in dynamic to Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver’s A Marriage Story. Thus, in this film noir, we marvel at the complexities of love in a way that reveals the conflict, emotional turmoil and demons of past lovers. However, we mustn't forget the current disposition that this global pandemic leaves us in, making the production of Malcolm and Marie all the more an impeccable feat.
After season two of the critically acclaimed drama series Euphoria halted filming due to pandemic concerns, Zendaya phoned her fellow director, Sam Levinson, inquiring about the possibilities of doing a film during quarantine. The answer, being a yes, got the two to planning. Hopping on board next was Washington who was quite thrilled about the opportunity, telling Variety Magazine, “It was something I desperately needed artistically.” But the production would pose quite the difficulty as pandemic guidelines had to be strictly followed.
To appease strict orders of various councils and unions, the filming took place at Caterpillar House, the sustainable architecture marvel, located in Carmel, California. The site posed the perfect location because of its privacy, sitting on 33 acres of land, and architecture to accent the artistry of the plot. The filming took place spanning from June 17th to July 2nd.
To maintain Covid-19 safety, the cast and crew were tested prior to arrival, upon arrival, and then went on to endure a two week quarantine that allowed for neither coming to or leaving the location. According to a report done by Deadline, further rules included temperature checks at the beginning and end of every day, six-feet social distancing for the crew at all times, the handling of costumes by cast members instead of crew and many more. These strict guidelines were closely maintained throughout the duration of the filming allowing for its successful completion.
Further, despite little publicity being carried out far in advance of the film, feedback and anticipation seem to be at a high. This may be partially due to a bit of an Instagram promo done by Zendaya back in July, captioning the picture preview as solely “Malcolm and Marie” without further context. This media marketing did however get her fans and many more talking about what the project could possibly be, including comments from fellow Hollywood moguls Storm Reid and Ava DuVernay praising the work.
There are high review hopes for Malcolm and Marie seeing as Netflix purchased it for $30 million and is currently trying to put the film and actors on track for Academy Award nominations. The film is set to release on February 5th, just in time for the Valentine’s Day season.
It is few and far in between that the Black community is able to see and celebrate Black love on screen. And given the year we’ve had and near shutdown of Hollywood and film productions, Malcolm and Marie is unequivocally a breath of fresh air. This February we celebrate Black History, Black love, and the beauty of Black artistry in the films that grace the big screens and our small screens for the time being.
Written for Reign Magazine, December 2020
