Malcolm (John Davidson) and Marie (Zendaya) are a glamorous Hollywood couple who have just come back from Malcolm’s successful movie premiere. The first scene starts with an agitated Marie walking through the door of their luxurious rental home.

Oblivious to Marie’s agitation, Malcom dances lively across his living-room to the beats of James Brown’s “Down and Out in New York City.”

Marie’s agitation stems from Malcolm forgetting to thank her in his movie premiere speech that was his editorial debut.

Malcolm’s movie “Imani” is about a woman with a drug addiction that was inspired by Marie’s past experience with drug addiction. This imprecise speech unravels a relationship full of resentment and infidelity. 

Both characters have moments of vulnerability. Marie calls Malcolm out for his over-privileged and well-educated upbringing being masked by presenting himself as the underdog. Marie’s vulnerability is overly exposed as Malcolm questions her mental state by calling her delusional and suicidal. Both characters seem to have their own issues and then their issues together as a couple. 

Yet, the film is not all heartbreak and sadness. The film has humor when drunk Malcolm goes on a 10-minute stomp parade. This is fueled by a bad review from an LA Times movie critic, that earlier in the night referred to as a masterwork.

Director Sam Levison uses this scene to uncover Hollywood’s failure to represent people of color without a political lens. 

This film takes a stylish black and white approach to pandemic filmmaking. Besides the overly weary argument, the film brings attention to often ask questions about the film industry.

As mentioned in the New York Times, “What obligation, if any, does an artist have to their muse? And how do we separate an artist’s work from their ethnicity?”

Also, how has Hollywood been depicting movies all these years? This film is a rollercoaster for raw emotions and I would recommend watching it.