The Drama

Brave the date 

What would you do if you found out the worst thing your partner ever did? Well, The Drama doesn't exactly serve as an answer to this question but it does make for a thrilling provocation. If you aren't chronically online - you may not know that Zendaya and Robert Pattinson's latest movie is causing quite the stir. Distributed by A24 - The Drama has been ingeniously marketed so that any hint of its shocking twist has been kept behind closed doors. The real kicker? The entire plot basically is the twist. As such, in a minefield of online spoilers all you need to know is what the trailers tell you. A couple due to be married in 7 days ask each other what the worst thing the other has ever done. Bride-to-be Emma (Zendaya) answers with such a bombshell it threatens to derail her wedding with Charlie (Pattinson). 

This marks the third consecutive film from Norwegian director Kristoffer Borgli that focuses, in some way, on the effects of cancel culture. His previous films Sick of Myself (2022) and Dream Scenario (2023) - centred on two individuals forced to grapple with new found fame and its dire consequences. Whilst his latest very much follows in their darkly comedic footsteps - The Drama is more about the reaction than the "antagonist". It raises the uncomfortable topic of how we process shocking revelations about our loved ones and, in turn, works best as a psychological thriller than it does dramady. That's not to say there aren't awkwardly amusing moments but the viewing experience is resoundingly horrific. 

It automatically gets a lot of mileage out of the lethal combination that is Zendaya and Robert Pattinson - but throw in a scene-stealing performance from Alana Haim and Hailey Gates and the whole thing completely erupts. Given the magnitude of Emma's confession and how the focus shifts to Charlie's reaction - the film sort of paints her character into a corner. We skirt around the big elephant in the room - which, although probably intentional, sometimes underserves Zendaya's immense talent. 

It's always fascinating to see something rapidly enter the cultural zeitgeist as this already has and the marketing surrounding it is ingenious. In withholding such key information about Emma's confession (as the trailers have), the audience are aligned with the characters in real time - causing our reaction to be as intuitive as theirs. Ultimately, this is a story about intent versus action - whether the notion of something immoral is as bad as acting on it.  The polarising online discourse surrounding the film is really symptomatic of how the characters in the film choose to navigate the situation. It's a fascinating toss up of our individual perception of right and wrong that speaks to a wider societal dilemma on how we find forgiveness in each other. 

The editing is a bit overworked at times. Some of the visual motifs mistake their constant repetition for character development. However, a lot of it also really works - the opening scene is spliced together like a horror (the Ari Aster producing credit makes total sense). It seems jarring at first but it's instantly clear that we're watching a ticking time bomb.

This is definitely one of the most uncomfortable cinema experiences in recent memory (think Shiva Baby on creatine). Pattinson delivers his best work yet and Alana Haim is nothing short of a superstar. It's the type of film that demands to be experienced with an audience and it deserves your attention. It's exciting to see a film tailor-made for controversy mostly stick the landing. Make sure to go in completely blind and to anyone thinking of playing a tell-all game a week before their wedding, maybe...erm...don't?