The Drama Review: Zendaya And Robert Pattinson’s Anti-Rom Com Delivers On The Title

Relationships are complex. Facing an unsettling revelation about a partner’s history can present one of the most complex issues in any relationship. That kind of revelation is at the heart of The Drama, the latest film from A24 and writer/director Kristoffer Borgli (Dream Scenario). Zendaya and Robert Pattinson play Emma and Charlie, an engaged couple who must suddenly grapple with Emma’s past as they hurdle towards their wedding date.

Like the spoiler-y revelation, the movie is unsettling, but it’s darkly funny at times, and ultimately a satisfying way to explore both societal issues and personal issues at the same time. The Drama finds a new spin on an old idea that makes it completely different than anything else in the romantic comedy genre. Rom coms are meant to be fantasies, not nightmares. Even the tropes it incorporates are twisted from what we all expect.

There is a lot to say, but it’s tricky to talk about.

The Drama is hard to talk about for a couple of reasons. The subject matter is dark, for sure, but it’s also a movie that you want to encourage people to go into blind. The marketing of the movie has been very coy about revealing too much about what causes the titular drama in the relationship, and it's a better movie for it. That has also caused some controversy, but don’t let that stop you from seeing it. Yes, it’s easy to see why so many people are upset about the subject matter, but without the surprise of Emma’s confession, the film doesn’t have the same kind of impact.

The complexity Emma and Charlie face is extreme, to be sure, but everyone can relate on some smaller level (and hopefully nothing like the one in the movie). Everyone understands dealing with something in their partner’s past that upsets them, and by presenting in an extreme way, Borgli can straddle the personal issue and compound it with a societal one. He does so brilliantly. It’s a film that will stick with you; it's a film that you’ll think about for weeks.

It’s not an easy movie to watch, but the subject matter is helped by the breezy pace and the occasionally hilarious, though very dark, moments. Laughing at this anti-rom-com might make one feel guilty after you do, but it allows you to catch your breath after the heavier parts of the story. This isn’t a laugh riot, so the comedy is as impactful as Emma’s confession. Borgli really pulls a rabbit out of a hat here, and it could easily have been derailed by a much more trite script.

Zendaya and Pattinson’s star power shines through.

Like the magic trick of a script, the weighty nature of the story is lightened by the performances from Zendaya and Pattinson. The two stars at the center of a great romantic comedy are usually described as having great chemistry, but that isn’t the correct description here. Yes, they are working really well together, but the audience doesn’t fall in love with their relationship. That’s not the point. We are as uncomfortable with the situation as they are.

Still, both stars put in wonderful performances that allow us to have contempt for each character but also compassion for both of them. Charlie’s struggles are on the surface as we are allowed to empathize with him, while Emma’s are smoldering, just as they have been her whole life. We see it, and we feel it, and both actors are at the top of their game. Seeing them at the Oscars just a few weeks ago, looking as glamorous as any movie stars ever have, is a stark contrast to what we see on the screen in The Drama. There is nothing glamorous here, and the pain for both characters is felt.

The rest of the cast, especially Mamoudou Athie (Kinds of Kindness) as Mike and Alana Haim (Licorice Pizza) as Rachel – Charlie and Emma’s best friends – are equally great, going through many of the same emotions we feel as the audience after Emma’s dark history is revealed. Zoë Winters’ (Materialists) role as the wedding photographer is also brilliant, again bringing some much-needed levity to the film. Hailey Gates (Challengers), who plays Charlie’s co-worker and confidant, is also wonderful, playing off the emotional mess that Charlie becomes.

The controversy surrounding the film doesn’t diminish the impact.

You may have read about the controversy surrounding the twist in The Drama that ultimately turns the rom-com genre on its head. Without spoiling anything, I’ll say that I understand why it has upset people, but without it, this film simply doesn’t have the same impact. The confession is meant to be shocking, and it is. It really is. Emma starts out being blasé about it, and that has angered some, but again, that’s the point. If the twist is meant to make us confront the simpler problems we all face in our relationships, it succeeds in a major way.

This isn’t a simple rom-com. It starts with a meet-cute and sets up to be one, but, as I said, it flips the genre on its head. Borgli uses horror movie techniques to make us feel even more unsettled as the movie progresses and has us questioning what we would do if faced with the same dilemma Charlie is faced with. His friends are horrified. HE is horrified. But he loves Emma, and he knows and loves Emma (or he thinks he does), so there is no simple solution.

Emma herself must again confront her terrible past, something she has obviously tried to put behind her, but cannot. Not when she also loves Charlie as much as he loves her. Grappling with a partner in full, the good, the bad, and the very ugly, is universal, and The Drama presents that in a way that no movie I’ve ever seen does.