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You might view both Washington and Leto through a glass darkly. |
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JD Washington and Zendaya as the talkative "Malcolm & Marie." |
Malcolm's live-in girlfriend Marie, a young actress portrayed by Zendaya, already an adept artist who might have her own unique take on such things, has much to say about the evening, too. And does she ever -- while making mac and cheese, trying to relax in a bathtub, and even with a threatening butcher's knife at her side.
Their heated exchanges come wrapped in grand-looking black-and-white from writer/director Sam Levinson, himself an up-and-comer who obviously has heard much of the trade talk his movie couple keeps quarreling over. After all, we do realize that 36-year-old Sam is the son of longtime show-biz legend Barry Levinson, no?
The bigger deal here, of course, is that Zendaya already has won an Emmy for playing an addict on "Euphoria," the HBO series created by the younger Levinson. Now he might be directing her -- and co-star Washington -- toward Academy Award nominations as the 21st century answer to the bickering Burtons from 1966's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf." Surely this disagreeing duo is as intriguing to watch -- and just as uncomfortable to listen to, even if their topic most likely will fall on deaf ears outside of the self-possessed world of Hollywood.
"Malcolm & Marie," now playing at the Cedar Lee Theater in Cleveland Heights and the Cinemark Valley View, debuts Feb. 5 on Netflix.
Rated "R" by MPAA: pervasive language and sexual content; 1:46; $ $ $ out of $5
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Timberlake and Allen bond nicely. |
One is the way he bonds with the poor boy next door. He's a happy youngster (newcomer Ryder Allen), who enjoys dolls and princesses and thinks nothing of telling his newfound friend: "Hey, Palmer, you had a sleepover with my Mama and you didn't wear no pajamas or underwear, neither."
That young Sam says such things in front of Palmer's grandmother (the sparkling June Squibb, very pivotal early on) gives a keen sense of what's to come, especially since aforementioned "Mama" (Juno Temple) has a penchant for disappearing for weeks on end.
Despite bullies big and small -- but mostly thanks to the screen chemistry of Timberlake and Allen --"Palmer," showing now on Apple TV+, becomes an occasionally moving little film for our times.
Rated "R" by MPAA: language, some sexual content/nudity, and brief violence; 1:51; $ $ $ out of $5
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