Netflix: Malcolm & Marie & 9 Other Best Modern Black & White Films You Can Stream Now

Starring Zendaya and John David Washington, Malcolm & Marie was one of the most anticipated Netflix releases of this year. The romantic drama relied on a black-and-white visual aesthetic that went well with its intimate narrative centering around the conflict between the two leads. Cinematographer Marcell Rév, of course, deserves due credit for creating Malcolm & Marie’s somber, mellow world.

In recent years, Netflix has featured several original films have relied on a monochrome aesthetic, ranging from Roma to The Forty-Year-Old Version. At the same time, the streaming service has its fair share of other acclaimed (non-Netflix original) black-and-white films, like Cold War, and a few documentaries that rely on archival footage (like the Remastered series).

10 Malcolm & Marie (2021)

Malcolm & Marie is essentially a ‘talkathon’ of a movie, written and directed by Euphoria creator, Sam Levinson. For its simplistically rich visual style, Levinson relied on his Euphoria collaborator, Marcell Rév. The film is set in the course of one night and the locations change from one room to the other in a lavish residence.

The titular characters share a toxic relationship, the repercussions of which they feel as they verbally duel with each other for the entirety of the night.

9 Blue Jay (2016)

Although not a Netflix original, Blue Jay has had its home on Netflix for some time, just like many other films under the Duplass Brothers Productions banner. Mark Duplass produces, writes, and stars as the lead, alongside Sarah Paulson.

Blue Jay follows a similar approach to romances like Malcolm & Marie in the sense that it’s a dialogue-driven drama with minimal setup and a timebound premise. Two high school sweethearts are reunited by a chance encounter and decide to spend a night together. The film doesn’t try weaving any over-the-top notions of romance and just attempts to understand the feelings of nostalgia and regret.

8 Roma (2018)

Roma bears a simple premise, but it is still one of Alfonso Cuaron’s most ambitious projects, and arguably his most personal one too. Inspired by his childhood in Mexico, the director and screenwriter also serves as editor and cinematographer to tell the tale of Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio in a promising debut), a domestic helper who ends up sharing a close bond with the family of her employer.

Apart from delving into Cleo’s emotions, the film treats its location as a character on its own. The black and white tones are soothingly suitable for the panoramic shots of a yesteryear Mexico City.

7 The Other Side Of The Wind (2018)

Orson Welles’ last film was perhaps also the most experimental effort of his career. Although shot in the 1970s, the film was finally released to audiences on Netflix in 2018. It follows a rapid-cut approach, transitioning between grainy colored and black-and-white footage.

A bleak satirical mockumentary at its core, The Other Side of the Wind documents the final days of a veteran director (John Huston) who works on his final cinematic pursuit. The film-within-a-film tropes are used to document the making of this fictional film, yielding some deadpan humor and surrealist high-art.

6 The Forty-Year-Old Version (2019)

An awards favorite from last year, The Forty-Year-Old Version marked Radha Blank’s stunning film debut as an actress, writer, director, and producer. The comedy-drama fictionalizes her life as a struggling playwright who seeks to find a new meaning in life through an interest in rapping.

However, her conflicting professional and life choices tend to take a toll on her as she nears the age of 40. Poignant, heartwarming, and hilarious when needed, the film is one of the freshest Netflix originals in recent memory. The color tone was intentional for the film’s focus on hip-hop. As Blank told Variety, “Hip-hop culture is often presented as oversexualized, and I feel like taking the color out forces you to see a certain level of humanity.”

5 What Did Jack Do? (2017)

David Lynch has bewildered cinephiles for decades with his absurdly unique stories and characters. What Did Jack Do is a similarly bizarre experiment that might polarise his audiences. It would be a Herculean task for one to find out the “true meaning” behind this cryptic 17-minute short.

The entire film plays out as an interview between a detective (Lynch) and a capuchin monkey suspected of murder. The conversation ends up being almost pointless, but it’s this pointlessness that makes the film funny and unsettling at the same time.

4 Curtiz (2018)

Curtiz is a Hungarian biopic on the Hungarian-American director Michael Curtiz, one of the pioneers of Hollywood’s Golden Age. The Netflix film documents Curtiz’s (Ferenc Lengyel) troubled relationship with his estranged daughter as he prepares to direct his future magnum opus, Casablanca.

Set in the Second World War, Curtiz also attempts to decipher the political interventions and dilemmas faced by its subject matter. For those who wish to understand the tumultuous production of Casablanca, Curtiz would make for an engaging watch.

3 Mank (2020)

Just as Curtiz dealt with the making of Casablanca, Mank unearths the story behind Citizen Kane and the personal trials and tribulations of its co-writer, Herman J Mankiewicz. Based on a screenplay by his late father, Jack Fincher, Mank is David Fincher’s passion project that balances style with substance.

From its opening seconds, it becomes evident that the director wishes to replicate the black and white era of Hollywood. From the vintage-style sound design to lavish sets to overdramatic monologues, Mank is an epic biopic that serves as a fitting tribute to its historical setting. With an ensemble led by the dynamic Gary Oldman, it is easily one of the most memorable black and white films on Netflix.

2 Elisa & Marcela (2019)

Shades of black and white present an underlying sadness that suits tragic romances, Elisa & Marcela being one such example. The Netflix Spanish-language film is inspired by the first same-sex marriage in Spain.

The titular leads (Natalia de Molina and Greta Fernandez) share a forbidden love with each other in the late 19th century. As time progresses, one of them decides to pose as a man so that they can finally have a socially-acceptable marriage. In terms of plot, Elisa & Marcela tends to get conventional, but it still provides some bittersweet melodrama against its long-drawn visual shots.

1 Cold War (2018)

Another visually-stunning tragedy shot in monochrome is Pawel Pawlikowski’s Polish historical romance, Cold War. As the title suggests, the film is set in tumultuous times of political polarization in Europe. In this background, two musicians fall in love, go their separate ways, and then meet again, only to damage themselves.

Łukasz Żal’s cinematography and the chemistry between actors Joanna Kulig and Tomasz Kot add a melancholic beauty to Cold War‘s narrative that plays out within a brief runtime. In terms of visual elements and emotional depth, Cold War serves as a perfect companion to the 2013 classic Ida that marked Pawlikowski and Żal’s first creative collaboration.

About The Author

Shaurya Thapa
(726 Articles Published)

Shaurya Thapa is an Indian freelance journalist who mostly dabbles in writings on cinema, music, and human interest features. When it comes to Screen Rant, he writes lists on a wide array of subjects ranging from international films to mainstream Netflix series and comic book trivia. He also hosts a podcast called ‘BhindiWire’, an Indian parody of IndieWire.

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