Malcolm & Marie Ending Explained: Will The Couple Break Up?
Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead for Malcolm & Marie
Writer-director Sam Levinson decides to end Malcolm & Marie on an emotionally unsatisfying note, leaving the fate of its titular characters open-ended and inevitable all at once. Fresh off the neon-tinted success of the HBO teen drama series, Euphoria, Levinson filmed Malcolm & Marie amid the pandemic, in an attempt to create a searing portrait of two individuals at the locus of a tumultuous confrontation helmed in personal trauma and reactions to artistic criticism. Starring John David Washington and Zendaya in the roles of Malcolm and Marie, respectively, Malcolm & Marie is now available for streaming on Netflix.
Shot on black-and-white 35 mm film, Malcolm & Marie opens with the central couple returning from the premiere of Malcolm’s feature film, which receives overwhelmingly positive audience reactions, spurring Malcolm to celebrate. What follows is an escalating tussle between the two that spans an entire evening, with Marie’s pain-tinged, quiet anger reaching multiple boiling points while being interspersed with Malcolm’s constant gaslighting, verbal abuse, and exhausting emotional tirades. Beginning as a semi-heated back-and-forth triggered by the fact that Malcolm forgets to thank Marie at his premiere speech, the fight evolves into a full-blown verbal war exposing the shaky foundations of a relationship built upon unhealthy patterns and toxic codependency.
The ending of Malcolm & Marie can be deemed as underwhelming, to say the least, as neither character gets the denouement they deserve. The final shot of the couple quietly standing together side by side, with their backs to the camera, does not offer a clear conclusion for the film’s narrative arc. Here’s the ending of Malcolm & Marie, explained.
While Malcolm & Marie is not strictly based on a true story, Levinson told Deadline that part of the plot was inspired by a real-life incident in which he forgot to thank his wife at a premiere. However, this is not the only aspect wherein art imitates life. Much of Malcolm’s character seems to be modeled on Levinson’s perception of film criticism and art itself, particularly Malcolm’s explosive tirade against “the white lady from the L.A.Times,” which is solely a dramatic mirroring of Levinson’s own feelings about a negative critical review of his 2018 comedy-thriller, Assassination Nation, by the L.A. Times. To state that the entirety of Malcolm & Marie is a tedious, self-serving directorial mouthpiece would indeed be unfair, as certain scenes in the film do exude merit - however, the film’s awkward roots in reality add a layer of exasperated pretentiousness and inauthenticity to the core narrative as a whole even as Malcolm is painted as a man whose narcissism blinds him to his own flaws.
Malcolm’s dreams of becoming a successful filmmaker took flight when he met a 20-year old Marie, who was struggling with severe addiction and suicidal tendencies at the time. While it was Malcolm who had aided Marie through her toughest times and helped her get clean, he utilizes this traumatic subject time and again as a weapon against her to prove a point. The reason why Marie’s anger is justified is rooted in the simple fact that Malcolm’s film is based on Marie’s struggle with substance abuse, which he had decided to translate into an authentic slice of cinema after she chose to share her guilt, shame, and vulnerability with him. This revelation places Marie not only as Malcolm’s partner but also his muse, a fact that is highlighted by her when she says that the story of Malcolm’s titular character, Imani, would never have been conceived without her presence in Malcolm’s life.
Keeping these factors in mind, Malcolm’s abject neglect of Marie’s importance in the making of the film and their relationship is manifested in the act of not thanking the woman who played a seminal role in his artistic and personal growth. This is further exacerbated by the fact that Malcolm’s narcissism prevents him from empathizing with Marie’s pain, as he proceeds to treat her with disdain, mockery, and constant belittlement. This is particularly heightened when the audience sees an innately broken, vulnerable Marie half-submerged in the bath, with Malcolm establishing his power over her in an emotionally grotesque manner:
“You wanna hurt me, Marie? I promise you; I can hurt you ten times worse. You’re a f*cking featherweight, a level-one boss. I can snap you like a twig.”
What follows is a twisted, lengthy verbal assault about Marie’s self-worth, and the names of all the women who inspired him to create the character of Imani, while stating that Marie’s trauma does not make her existence special or meaningful. Verbal cruelty seems to have no bounds when it comes to Malcolm, who appears to take obscene pleasure in making Marie feel insignificant despite the fact that it is her very existence that made his film possible in the first place. This inevitably sparks a debate about how much of artistic inspiration can be deemed truly original, how much of it is owed to someone else, even stolen, and whether it truly matters as long as its cinematic interpretation holds meaning and value. However, the implications run deeper, as it creates a gaping bridge between the two characters who need each other as humans who crave emotional validation.
As the couple alternate between hurling hurtful insults at each other and clinging onto the other in passionate embraces in Malcolm & Marie, it becomes amply clear that the foundations of their relationship have been brutally excavated and shattered. Marie’s quiet, consistent presence in Malcolm’s life has rendered him blind and immune to her worth as a partner and a human being. He fails to understand that Marie is the only person who loves him enough to tolerate his emotional outbursts, be they personal or work-related. This is exemplified in the lengthy sequence in which Malcolm, despite receiving a positive review from the critic at L.A. Times, launches into a tempestuous rant against the inability of critics to truly understand a director’s artistic perspective. Although Marie listens to him quietly, an amused expression adorning her face, she finds his opinions hypocritical as every commercial and affluent artist like Malcolm craves the same things - attention, validation, and fame.
However, this juncture of mutual truce comes to an abrupt end when Marie tearfully asks Malcolm why he had not cast her in the role of Imani. Being an actress herself, Marie claims that she would have been infinitely better at translating her personal grief and trauma on the screen, as she is the one who actually lived it. When Malcolm chalks her question up to jealousy, Marie proves her authenticity by acting out as if she has relapsed again, unbeknownst to Malcolm, who believes it to be true. This highlights the extreme lengths to which each character is ready to go present and upheld their perspective to the other, which Marie hints at earlier in the film as “the inability to de-escalate any situation.”
During the final conversation in Malcolm & Marie, Marie proceeds to make Malcolm realize how fundamentally self-absorbed he has been around her while taking her unflinching support for granted. She calmly iterates that all she ever wanted from him was an acknowledgment, a simple “thank you,” as it was the least he could do to validate her role in his success and his emotional growth. Marie also states how unnecessary and petty Malcolm’s constant cruelty is, as she was already crushed by his actions only to be further bruised by his inflamed words. Malcolm’s massive ego and the denial of his utter dependency on Marie led to him taking her for granted, which culminated in the searing verbal confrontation seen throughout the film.
The end of Malcolm & Marie shows a distressed Malcolm, who is unable to find Marie in the house, desperately calling out for her. This could potentially have been an emotionally satisfying conclusion, as it would highlight the price that Malcolm would have to pay for his hamartia - the reality of Marie leaving him. Instead, the camera pans to Marie standing quietly outside the house, who is joined shortly by Malcolm, who stands next to her. This implies that the two have made amends, at least temporarily, marking the inception point of a vicious cycle of confrontation and emotional abuse that is bound to repeat over and over. While the ending of Malcolm & Marie does not overtly hint at them breaking up, it is inevitable that someday, one of them is going to break away from the other or bitterly drift apart. This possibility adds an ominous tinge to the ending, which leaves a host of lingering questions in the air.
The ending of Malcolm & Marie points to the fact that no matter how hurtful or brutally scarring their relationship might be, both Malcolm and Marie are toxically codependent to the point of mutual near-destruction. Toward the end, Malcolm seeds deeply ashamed of his behavior, but does little except offer a dry “I’m sorry” and “thank you” before the two drift off to sleep. However, this seems to be enough for Marie, who understands that it is immensely difficult for Malcolm to see past his flaws and acknowledge his mistakes. Holding on to the hope that time will heal all wounds, the two stand together despite being repeatedly driven apart by the other’s callous cruelty, and their own personal demons that threaten to drown them. Although their relationship seems to have survived this terrible night, the ending of Malcolm & Marie does not promise a happy reconciliation, but rather yet another toxicity-fueled tragedy.
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