Page 2 March 4, 2021
In Malcolm & Marie, Tortured Artists Speak
Their Minds in Beautiful Black & White
By Morgan Rojas for cinemacy.com
I’m probably one of the few “critics” who
isn’t offended by the biggest point of contention
in director Sam Levinson’s (Euphoria,
Assassination Nation) stylishly enthralling
romantic drama, Malcolm & Marie: the point
being “critic bashing” or, “how criticism kills
art.” While I can’t fully agree with that outlook
(because my job would be rendered useless
if so), I tend to agree with the bigger picture
here: sometimes art for art’s sake, without the
need for a “message,” is good enough. That
said, if you’re looking for a whirlwind of
sharp monologues, snazzy music, and a story
that exists purely for artistic expression, then
you’ll find a lot to love in Malcolm & Marie,
now streaming on Netflix.
Once upon a time in Malibu, Malcolm (John
David Washington) and his girlfriend Marie
(Zendaya) return from an after-party of the
premiere of his feature film. What was supposed
to be a celebratory night of debauchery turns
into a marathon all-nighter of introspective
conversation about art, inspiration, and what
it all means as the couple bicker about things
in and out of their control, specifically the
pending critics reviews.
The “arrogant director” and “overlooked
muse” trope is on full display, as Malcolm
and Marie bounce from room to room, hurling
monologues at each other that border on
verbal abuse, or as Marie puts it, “emotional
fucking terrorism.” Perhaps they’re releasing
the night’s pent-up anxiety, or maybe they’re
finally letting go of built-up resentment but
either way, they take it out on each other. He
can’t stand her neediness and she won’t be his
manic pixie dream girl any longer; but once the
sun starts to rise on their emotionally taxing
night, both of their inflated egos shrivel in the
dawn of a new day.
Malcolm & Marie is heavily music-driven,
propelled by the talent of Euphoria’s music
supervisor Jen Malone. In addition to music
by British singer-songwriter Timothy Lee
McKenzie aka Labrinth, tracks like Dionne
Warwick’s “Get Rid of Him” provide further
context into the emotional state of our
protagonists.
The music is balanced out by the nonstop
monologues, which the film delivers in
spades. The deft, meaty script is accredited to
Levinson as well and is worth dissecting and
re-visiting like a graduate thesis paper. Shot
entirely during the pandemic, Malcolm & Marie
leans into this pressure cooker of emotional
energy. Taking place in one location and with
only two actors, the weight of the film rests
solely on Washington and Zendaya who each
give electrifying, passionate performances.
Levinson’s not so subtle hint to his critics,
via his mouthpiece Malcolm, is this: Critics
sap the world of its mystery by trying to
explain everything, and in their search for a
“message,” they miss the emotion. Malcolm
& Marie is an artfully strong clap back to
some of Levinson’s own critics, and an equally
impressive film for anyone who appreciates
the beauty of pure artistic expression. •
Malcolm & Marie, courtesy Netflix.
Morgan Rojas
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J.J. Eboli from front page
once in L.A. and thinking of scoring movies,
he moved here in 2006 and took a film
scoring program at UCLA.
Since living here, he’s worked for many
music houses, written for music libraries and
commercials, and scored several films, games,
and T.V. shows, like The Late Show with
Stephen Colbert, Pawn Stars, and many more
on channels like The Discovery Channel, CBS,
HBO, The History Channel, A&E, VH1, Spike
TV, WWE, Amazon Prime T.V., and Hulu.
When working with a director on a project,
he likes to speak in terms of emotion rather
than musical terms. Often the director knows
what feeling they’re going for, but may not
know the right music to get there. So after a
spotting session, going over every spot that
needs musical coverage and which beats to
hit, he composes a mock-up and submits it
for review. After several rounds of notes,
he records the final piece, sometimes with
an orchestra, and delivers the final product.
However, in his free time, writing for
music libraries, he isn’t given a direction in
which to write.
“I would create a scene in my head,” says
Eboli. When he is writing for a music library,
he never writes in generalities. He thinks of
a specific scene and writes music to it as it
plays out in his head. For example, he recently
used the landing of Perseverance on Mars
to write a scene and score. He pictured the
launching, the travel, the landing and wrote
in events along the way.
Of all subjects to write for, he gets especially
excited about projects involving outer space.
Eboli loves the topic of space, not in a sci-fi,
kitschy way, but in a scientific and beautiful
way. He’d definitely space travel if he could,
he says, or visit the moon given a chance.
With all this musical background and training,
he wanted to share his experience with kids.
“I love working with kids,” he says, going
on to say that he hopes to impart his upbringing
of a relaxed relationship with music to
kids today. In the future, he plans to expand
his business, hire new teachers for basic music
lessons, and focus on teaching kids and
teenagers composition and music production
as a business. He wants to teach his students
how to record to the computer, sequence, and
write for a specific scene, giving them the
tools of the trade.
When he is not playing, recording, or teaching,
J.J. likes to engage in outdoor activities
like surfing, volleyball, and tennis.
“Coming from Brazil, I play soccer, mostly
with my son,” he adds, noting that he loves
the parks and small-town feel of El Segundo.
Music is a living for J.J. Eboli, but more
than that, it’s an outlet. Kids especially have
so many things in their schedule, he says,
that music is a way to have some quiet time
and let their minds wander.
Every time he sits in front of his piano,
he is thrown back to his grand-aunt’s house,
because he feels good there. That’s his
goal in music and all other aspects of his
life. He plays not to be the best, but for the
love of playing.
“I think that’s the ultimate goal of playing
an instrument or anything in life. In the end,
you should feel good there. It’s just going
to make you a better person, you know?” •
JJ teaches a student to play the guitar at Little Composers Academy.
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