Review of Malcolm & Marie

I want to start by saying that I LOVE Zendaya as an actress, I mean since a child she has had such a cute, genuine approach to every single role that she portrays. I mean how many actresses do you know that can go from a drugged out teen to a super hero one? She is AMAZING... But I don't think pitting her up against John Washington in this film was fair on any account. First of all, John's energy throughout the entire film, gave a sense of urgency and realism while Zendaya's character seemed very performative the entire time. And I understand that her character was meant to be "weak" to some extent, but during an argument, when someone is coming at you with that amount of fire in their words, no person in a serious relationship is going to be that willing to just cry and listen. I say this not because he is the son of Denzel, but because he carried the role, and the movie with such grace that kept you intrigued: He carried this movie all by himself. From listening to his music in the beginning, it was so real and honest, to the hurtful words he was saying while Marie was in the bathtub even to the subtleness of apologizing to Marie and finally thanking her like she asked, it was all open and real. Yes, relationships are messy and there is always going to be one person who is the "dominant" but Maries character was much to unrealistic in this movie. I feel like it would've been much better with an actress who could keep up with John's energy.