A Bold and Provocative Film
Some spoilers for The Drama below
The Drama, featuring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, is set to be one of the most talked-about films of the year. It’s not just a movie about a couple’s wedding; it’s a film that explores the fallout from a shocking revelation that is expected to spark widespread discussion across both sides of the Atlantic in the coming weeks.
Directed by Norwegian writer-director Kristoffer Borgli, known for pushing boundaries with previous works like Dream Scenario and Sick of Myself, The Drama continues this trend. It is a deeply provocative, darkly humorous comedy-drama that challenges conventional storytelling.
While often labeled as a rom-com due to its wedding setting, The Drama quickly moves beyond romance, focusing instead on themes of how well we can truly know someone and the immense power of social commitments and losing face in society.
A Convincing Couple
The film opens with Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Pattinson) preparing their speeches with friends in the week leading up to their wedding. The star-powered duo presents a convincing couple, comfortable with each other and the idea of spending the rest of their lives together.
Anecdotes reveal that Charlie was immediately enamored with Emma, approaching her in a coffee shop with great enthusiasm. He tests what he should and shouldn’t mention, including the sweet phrase: “I love how you always turn my drama into comedy.” How hollow that will later ring!
As the trailer shows, they get a little buzzed at a wine tasting with friends Rachel (Alana Haim) and Mike (Mamoudou Athie), who introduce the idea of confessing the worst thing they’ve each ever done ahead of the impending nuptials—but no one is prepared for Emma’s revelation.
This revelation has already sparked intense backlash before the film is even released, despite the studio’s efforts to keep the central twist under wraps. However, given that it is introduced just over 20 minutes into the film, it’s impossible to critique the film without referencing it.
A Vital Watch
The Drama is a vital, even urgent, watch. It is likely to divide audiences, particularly in the US, and discussions about it will continue throughout the end-of-year retrospectives. This is another reason for The Drama’s tightly controlled roll-out, especially internationally: producers knew it would be marketed beyond their wildest dreams by reviews, an inevitable deluge of think pieces, and the incoming social media frenzy.
A Challenging Balance
Pattinson serves as the audience surrogate, grappling with how he’s known his fiancée previously and the secret from her past that raises red flags, calling into question her sanity, morality, and how she operates in society.
Stellar performances from both Zendaya and Pattinson help pull off the challenging balance of The Drama, with both actors expertly juggling the (bizarre) light and (darkest of) shade with their absurd situation in a way that rings completely true.
There are also very good supporting turns in the cast, including from a stable of A24 talent such as Hailey Benton Gates and Zoë Winters.
Notable Moments
Some particularly powerful yet uncomfortable moments stand out, such as Charlie imagining a teenage Emma (Jordyn Curet) with him and with a rifle, as he desperately tries to process information that has turned both his relationship and his reality upside down. Winters’ wedding photographer then casually begins a long list of intended pictures with the explanation that she’s “going to shoot you first, then your parents, then your grandparents” at a beyond-awkward appointment.
Key Details About The Drama
Director: Kristoffer Borgli
Writer: Kristoffer Borgli
Cast: Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Alana Haim, Mamoudou Athie, Jordyn Curet, Hailey Benton Gates, Zoë Winters, Sydney Lemmon, Anna Baryshnikov
Age rating: 15
Run time: 1hr 45m
Release date: The film is in UK and US cinemas from Friday, April 3.
A Thought-Provoking Tone
The tone here is different—it’s meant to provoke—and just because you laugh doesn’t mean the film isn’t taking this seriously. In fact, The Drama clearly offers a warning of how easy it could be to radicalise a lonely and depressed teenager who feels ostracised by her peers. But it’s unpleasant to consider the possibility we could all be just a few steps away from committing mass violence, as the film suggests.
To some, it will be offensive, certainly anyone who has lost a loved one in similar circumstances, and some are claiming that it glamorises, or at least humanises, gun violence by putting an unexpectedly popular and positive face to it with Zendaya.
It’s a particularly bold movie to release in the US, a country perceived as the home of this type of violence with the deep roots of its gun culture.
A Broader Impact
There are of course other successful ways of covering this troubling issue in films, like 22 July, Bowling for Columbine, and recent Oscar-winner for best documentary short, All the Empty Rooms. But, let’s be frank, a glossy A24 drama starring two of the hottest A-List actors in the world right now, beloved of millennials and Gen Z alike, is going to be seen by far more people, more mainstream audiences, and spark way more discourse as it’s released and audiences get to react.
In my mind, this is only a good thing.
Yes, you’ll feel guilty laughing over the admittedly very funny parts of The Drama—but that’s the point.
I understand that, as a British critic, this is more removed from my daily reality than that of an American. And I don’t come at this from the uniquely painful position that parents, family, and friends of mass shooting victims do. The Drama is too close to home for them to watch—but I urge anyone else.
Verdict
The Drama is daring, intelligent, and expertly judged in its unexpected and taboo-breaking approach to a heavy and highly sensitive topic. If you don’t watch it, you’re missing out.
The Drama releases in UK and US cinemas today.
