Nicolas Ayala Velasquez

Watch List # 4 – Malcom and Marie

I was very intrigued by the selection of this movie to be completely in black and white. The
tendency to associate black and white films with old times is changing and that motivates me to
look more into this style of movies. It is one of the first movies which the shot design is a major
visual highlight without any complexity. Although it had an air of a slightly stretched short film,
Malcom and Marie had several elements which made me realize their cinematography was
controlled and designed meticulously.

At first glance and in the first minutes of the film, there is a major game being played between
the camera movement and the actors. While Malcom paces back and forth in the living room the
camera moves outside the window following him and coming back to see Marie smoking a
cigarette while he rants and speaks. This movement called my attention due tot the splicing of
the action the windows division have on the frame. Regardless of these constant brakes, it seems
premeditated, as if the house was built so that the audience could follow from the outside of the
house. This simplicity in the cinematography persist through the film giving even frames which
are stills but the different arrangements of the structure make it seem premeditated and
balanced.

On the other hand, the decision to be displayed in black and white also allows the audience to
focus on other elements of the narrative, particularly the designed visuals and the story itself.
With the absence of color, the contrast in the frame is enhanced, the scale of grays tends to bring
a grounded balance to any frame. This also enables for the audience to be more visually attentive
to the frame composition, the acting performance and the story since it reduces one visual
element. One major element of this film, is that the house where they are staying seems to
always change in some way every room which is not the living room and their bedroom. Halls
seem always different, mirrors are used to break the space and stairs appear as we follow either
of the characters in one of their arguments. The geography of the place becomes difficult to
follow when one of the characters is confused or trying to figure out something about their
lovers. It brings an even greater meaning to the frame without the audience even noticing.

Finally, the last element I considered helped a lot was the wide shots they used in the entirety of
the film. The long texts the actors have to deliver allow for wide angles so that they both can be
in frame. Their reactions are seeing in real time as their partner is spitting out hurtful information.
The come back to this wide shots whenever either of them are saying or telling a fight our in the
living room or out of the house. However, when the fights become more personal and the
arguments which are being exposed are more connected with the characters inner flaws and
thoughts they are changed to a close up like when both of them are arguing in the bathroom.
This movie proved to me how the layout and preproduction of shots enhances the effectiveness
of the feeling and mood of a film. I would be surprise if anyone in the audience doe snto feel like
they are intruding in the middle of a domestic argument which is scaling out of proportions and
is always being restarted.