Weekly Review No. 6 | Malcolm & Marie

Rebecca D'Souza
Feb 28, 2021
3 min read

Zendaya & John David Washington

with

Lost in Translation

Stills of from Shot by Shot | Malcolm & Marie. Netflix

Review

If you ever search for the definition of ‘film’ on Wikipedia, this is what you may still see.

Directed by Sam Levinson, Malcolm & Marie is a break-down of a complicated, toxic relationship, control, and love in 1h 46m. Whatever is said or left unsaid by the actors is somewhat understood by the viewer. Not only did Levinson write a concise screenplay, but he sure did know how to shoot the movie in one house. That is the greatness of filmmaking. In the movie, Marie and Malcolm are like two tigers in a cage encircling one another, with Levinson as a crucial third-wheel.

Angles & The Magnitude Of A Still

In Shot by Shot, Levinson explains a few of the scenes. The monochrome tones and angles, rather the frames that are used creates the ascendance of the tension in the scenes. Consider the light like the ‘light’ of a painting. Ever since the Renaissance, we see defined techniques of painting which emphasised just how much a specific type of lighting dictates the atmosphere, and as a result the overall composition. Lighting goes a very long way. There can be a lot of emphasis in a well-lighted photograph. That is photography. The potential of a single still to have associative meaning without context or text. Which brings me to the power of still images.

If we were to break down some of the stills of Lost in Translation (2003), we are left with photographs of loneliness and seeking to be understood when surrounded by distant yet physically-close, noisy, and artificial-like settings. These artificial settings almost seem to emphasise on the privacy of those moments spent alone or in the company of someone else. I was reminded of Lost in Translation after reading THE KATARIBE JOURNAL. Which I read through et cetera by Harismita, which I’ve shared the links to below. In quotations is an excerpt from Lessons in Art: Lost in Translation by THE KATARIBE JOURNAL.

“Bob, lying in the bath, is looking out into the distance when he receives a call from his wife. Framed between two marble pillars, he looks like the last man on the planet. His wife, Lydia, asks him if he wants to reconsider his choice of carpet for the study.” The function of framing works very well, and is extremely important yet subtle. It’s like how the cinematography and frames of Parasite (2019) depicts the class divide. Directed by Bong Joon-ho, the cinematography was done by Hong Kyung-pyo. I definitely think Parasite will go down as a morbidly-fictional, realistic classic.

Stills of Charlotte from Lost in Translation. 2003

Back to Lost in Translation, the actors are separately shown in interior spaces. Through her direction, Coppola represents this disconnect. A feeling that is accentuated upon through its dreamy, faded quality and grey and blue hues. Both Charlotte and Bob find themselves in a city of loud sounds and bright lights. That of a modern consumer culture. Yet, they are shown reflective and disconnected, shown behind glass, overlooking the city of Tokyo.