‘The Drama’ Review

‘The Drama’, the stylish and beguiling romantic comedy from writer director Kristoffer Borgli, is a film that supposes that a single interesting question is all that’s needed to make an interesting film. Thanks to all-in performances from its A-List stars, as well as its streak of pitch black humor and mature take on relationship dynamics, ‘The Drama’ hits the mark as an off-kilter and absorbing romantic curiosity.

Zendaya and Robert Pattinson star as Emma and Charlie, a young couple deep in love, wrapping up the final preparations during the week leading up to their wedding. During a final tasting session with their Best Man and Maid of Honor (Mamoudou Athie and Alana Haim), a previously untold secret is revealed that throws into question how much they truly know one another, and whether there are some past behaviors that are unforgivable.

Anybody who has planned, attended, or worked a wedding knows how these events have a tendency to bring out the worst in people; how by the time the event arrives, the bride and groom are at their most emotionally vulnerable, beaten down through weeks or months of stress, anxiety, planning. With so much logistical work needed to plan an intimate performance for all of your friends and loved ones, it can become easy to forget the purpose of the wedding itself, and as the day approaches, one is left to consider: who is this person I’m marrying? How much do I really know them?

Desperate to shed his teenage heartthrob image, Robert Pattinson has spent the bulk of his post-Twilight career acting as a delightful string of weirdos in a who’s who of auteur cinema. As Charlie, Pattinson achieves a near perfect symbiosis of his movie star persona with unhinged emotional swings made all the more compelling by quieter moments of tender, unaffected charm that reminds audiences why he became such an idol in the first place.

As Emma, Zendaya is given perhaps the more challenging role. Where Pattinson is careening between emotional highs and lows, both physically and emotionally, Zendaya is subtle and restrained, hopeful to be loved as she is yet scared and frustrated that it might not be so easy an ask.

One of my biggest complaints about the film is that the rest of the cast, even as the performers acquit themselves well, present as one dimensional foils to the main couple. They are written less as human beings than as supporting arguments for and against the film’s central thesis.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of the film is how strongly Borgli delivers on all of the film’s disparate tones. The comedy is genuinely hilarious, most especially at its darkest; the romance is believably romantic; and the drama of it all is anxiety inducing and overwhelming, playing out like a matrimonial ‘Uncut Gems’.

As the story winds its way to its climactic meltdowns, I was left slightly cold, wishing, perhaps bizarrely, that the movie would go even more off the rails. The set up is so engaging, and the tension ratchets up naturally, yet the climax ends up feeling somewhat underwhelming, even for all of its inevitable theatrics.

To say this film is an unfettered delight would be a lie, as it aims instead to uniquely capture all of the stress, fear, anger, love and, yes, drama that make up a relationship. In its enthralling blend of genre, ‘The Drama’ functions both as a romantic comedy, and something a little artsier, a little more ambitious, which leaves an unshakeable impact as even the most glamorous couple is shown to have hidden warts.

The Drama
Rated R for sexual content, some violent/bloody images, language throughout, and brief drug use.
Running Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes

Director Kristoffer Borgli
Writers Kristoffer Borgli
Stars Zendaya, Robert Pattinson,
Rating R
Running Time 105 Minutes
Genres Comedy, Drama, Romance