By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Sam Levinson
Starring: John David Washington | Zendaya
Country: united_states
Year: 2021
Running time: 106
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12676326/reference
Michael says: “Sam Levinson wrote and directed this overwrought two-hander during the COVID-19 lockdowns, and what might have been a interesting examination of how love and hate aren’t all that far apart in a relationship, turns out to be a clumsy, endlessly circling series of tiresome monologs filled with textbook arguments. John David Washington and Zendaya play a couple returning from the successful premiere of his film premiere: a serious film about overcoming addiction in which he borrowed heavily from his girlfriend’s life experiences, then forgot to thank her in his remarks. While he is high on his success and in a celebratory mood, she is cool and distanced, and just wants to go to bed and get past this slight that he’s not even aware of. What happens is that through his contact needling, she finally lets loose on her disappointment, which spirals upwards into an increasingly shrill, but sadly tiresome back and forth as the two each for the other’s jugular even as they skewer racism, the male gaze, and the pretentiousness of critics.
“None of the three principals, director and two actors, emerge unscathed, but Zendaya actually makes the most of her role, usually going with restraint, which serves her well and allows her to show some acting chops that could help her transition to more adult roles. Washington takes everything to the biggest place he can, whether he’s happy, desirous, furious, or hurtful. It’s hard to see his side of the argument when he becomes mean, petty and raging. Levinson suffers the most with a clumsy, off-putting script that doesn’t ring true, and direction that just moves through the spacious home that they are living in during the shooting of his film. Shot in lovely black & white, the look of the film is nice, but can’t save it from the tiring cycle of pompous arguments that overtake everything else. And it doesn’t really go anywhere either, just neatly ties things up the next morning. There are a few nice moments, particularly watching Zendaya absorb her partner’s boorishness with a silent, sullen mask. 2 cats“