Intrigue surrounding the release of a new film starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya has been slowly building leading up to its release. The public has been told it’s a black comedy or dramedy about relationships hinging on a twist that could be slightly controversial. As the buzz has gotten louder, The Drama is finally here.
In the film, Charlie (Pattinson) and Emma (Zendaya) are happily engaged and finalizing their wedding before the nuptials officially take place in one week. Preparing speeches, checking the venue, all before the big day. While finalizing the food and wine with friends Mike (Mamoudou Athie) and Rachel (Alana Haim), Emma confesses a dark secret to the group while playing a game of “Confess the worst thing you’ve ever done.” The fallout from the revelation puts her and Charlie’s relationship to the test.
The Drama uses the relationship at its center to explore the concept of the impressions, both how we make them and how they can change over time, in a hilariously fascinating way. The manner in which Emma challenges everything that Charlie thought he knew about his fiancée is of course darkly absurd, but in its dark comedy lies the thought-provoking question of the limits in how the love we have for others can change alongside with our perception of them. They say that first impressions are nearly impossible to recreate, but what about changed ones? When a person falls in love with another, it is common for us to create an idealized version of them in our heads. When reality shatters that illusion, it can challenge not only your perception of your partner, but the relationship itself. We see Charlie struggle with this as he contemplates Emma’s past and what it may reveal about who she really could be.
Charlie is left to endlessly wonder what others will think and the right way to respond to the revelation which The Drama presents in a way that is simultaneously entertaining and thoughtful without presenting any clear answers and instead allowing the audience to consider the question themselves. The result is an engaging film that effectively pulls you into the world presented onscreen, generating empathy and allowing viewers to put themselves in the shoes of multiple characters onscreen. How would you react if you were Charlie? Would you have shared that story if you were Emma? If so, when or how? What would you have thought if you were Rachel or Mike?
This self-insert engenders invest in the characters which only makes the film stronger and impactful, a testament to the story construction and the performances from Pattinson, Zendaya, Haim, and other characters such as Hailey Gates’ Misha. Pattinson convincingly captures Charlie’s slow descent from doubt to self-destruction while Zendaya pulls off Emma’s regret just as well. They’re imminently believable as a couple first in love and then torn apart by a secret. It goes without saying that The Drama hinges upon their chemistry and performances and the neither star disappoints. Haim is also very effective as the friend turned scorned adversary, her anger at Emma’s revelation turning the story and serving as a realistic depiction of how many would react to it. She sells the disgust and skeptical argument of how impressions can change and the feasibility of forgiveness.
Judgement and our capacity to forgive are very much part of the larger subtext and question in the film once we pull out and frame The Drama within the context of our world. In the age of cancel culture, many would argue that our society no longer believes in the concepts of forgiveness and redemption; that people are now defined by who they are in their worst moments. This film is partly a treatise on where we are as a society in regard to the question of what exactly determines who we are at our core. Emma made steps to atone for her younger self dancing right up to the line of making a detestable decision, notably without having being caught first. Is that fact enough or is even having considered doing wrong too much to be forgiven? Is it wrong to judge others for the worst things they’ve ever done or is who we are and what we do when most frustrated a glimpse of what lies within us all along? As with the question surrounding changing impressions of loved ones, The Drama stands out because writer/director Kristoffer Borgli doesn’t answer this question for the audience but rather presents a story for them to consider these questions themselves.
The Drama is a very entertaining and well crafted film. Written in a way that is darkly humorous but still thought-provoking, it’s a perfectly balanced experience that is also well paced and forces the audience to consider multiple perspectives. Kristoffer Borgli writes in a way that taps into the zeitgeist and creates characters that are relatable to those various vantage points and ways of thinking. Robert Pattinson and Zendaya are magnetic onscreen with great chemistry and performances. Borgli even adds some visual flair to the film with quick cuts and transitions and Scorsese-esque whip pans that are both dynamic technically but also mirror and emphasize the jumbled perspective these characters have regarding their lives and relationships following Emma’s confession. Additionally, Borgli utilizes non-linear flashbacks in an effective way that provides backstory and context for the characters. The Drama is a gem of a film that hits all the right notes.
Image: A24
