THE DRAMA (2026)
- phillipsdavis136
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Or: The Ultimate Baggage.
Grade: A
The Drama is correctly titled, as there is indeed a lot of drama here, but it may as well have been called The Dark Comedy and it would be just as accurate. It is built on a disturbing revelation about one of the characters and eventually spins completely out of control, yet there is an undeniable sense of humor throughout. The questions it forces us to consider kind of get lost as things become more frantic and intense, but the direction and sheer intensity of the movie’s execution keep us invested, as do the performances of the two leads, Zendaya and Robert Pattinson.
Much of the film takes place in the week leading up to the wedding of Emma and Charlie, played by Zendaya and Pattinson. The early scenes chronicling their first meeting and early relationship appear to be straight out of a rom-com. Then, while picking wine for the wedding with their friends Rachel (Alana Haim) and Mike (Mamoudou Ali), they ask each other about the worst thing they’ve ever done. The answers by three of them vary in terms of how awful they are, but Emma’s answer changes the tone entirely, as she drunkenly admits that she nearly committed a heinous crime when she was a teenager. Rachel is horrified and infuriated by this revelation, and Charlie is sent spiraling as he struggles to reconcile Emma’s past self with the girl he loves now.
Charlie’s reaction to Emma’s almost-crime (which will not be specified here) is what drives the remainder of the story. At the same time, we as audiences are asked to consider, how would we react if we learned someone we love nearly did an evil thing? Especially since they ultimately never went through with it. It takes some kind of nerve to directly address something like this in an age when people are often judged for things they did long ago that just came to light. Emma explains the circumstances that led to her mindset at the time, as well as the reasons why she bailed on her plan, but Charlie cannot help but wonder if the dark impulses she had back then might still be buried somewhere. His fear becomes an overpowering obsession, leading to a truly impressive performance by Pattinson. He and Zendaya play off each other magnificently, making their chemistry believable.
Much of the film’s humor comes from clever edits and hilariously ironic verbal statements; the scene where Emma and Charlie meet with their wedding photographer had several people laughing at the screening I attended. The whole movie, in fact, seems designed to lull us into a false sense of security before yanking the rug out from under us at any given time, the admission scene being just one example. At a certain point, the comedy becomes more of a suspenseful trainwreck, as Charlie’s desperation to overcome his anxiety leads him to completely rewrite his planned wedding speech and make some increasingly bad choices. It all culminates in one of the most disastrous wedding receptions ever put to film.
The climax of The Drama is insanely cinematic, but the events which lead to it feel real and serious. The conclusion, however, is somewhat less than believable; it’s as if the movie knows it’s wrapping up and must end somehow, regardless of whether it seems realistic. But it nevertheless serves as a quiet contrast to the intense, well, drama we have seen up until now, and it allows us to let out a sigh of relief.
Director: Kristoffer Borgli
Screenplay: Kristoffer Borgli
Producers: Ari Aster, Lars Knudsen, Tyler Campellone
Cast: Zendaya (Emma Harwood), Robert Pattinson (Charlie Thompson), Alana Haim (Rachel), Mamoudou Athie (Mike), Hailey Gates (Misha), Zoe Winters (Frances)
Rated: R (for sexual content, some violent/bloody images, language throughout, and brief drug use)
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