The Drama Stands as One of the Most Complex, Subversive Thrillers in Years!
Image Courtesy of A24
By Luis Zonenberg
With April now in full swing, it’s time to once again kick off the halfway to Halloween horrorthon once again! For our first pick, I wanted to watch something that tackled something so eerie and dreadful that sent shivers down my spine. None fit the bill better than The Drama which tackles one of the most terrifying things out there: marriage! With this romantic dark comedy uniting Robert Pattinson and Zendaya for the first of three films they’re starring in this year, I knew it’d be the perfect film to kick off the season with.
The story focuses on bookish museum director, Charlie Thompson (Robert Pattinson), as he works to prepare for his speech for his upcoming wedding. Charlie is currently engaged to Emma Harwood (Zendaya), a bookstore clerk from Louisiana who lost all her hearing in the right side of her ear. One night, they see the DJ for their upcoming wedding, Pauline (Sydney Lemmon) seemingly smoking weed which forces them to debate about whether they should fire her over the incident.
Spoilers Ahead: The incident with Pauline prompts them to ask for advice from the best man and maid of honor, Mike (Mamoudou Athie) and Rachel (Alana Haim). While discussing this, Rachel argues that each one of them has probably committed some terrible thing at one point or another, prompting each one to confess to at least one misdemeanor they all committed. This leads to Emma confessing that she almost caused a school shooting back in high school, causing tension to brew between not only her and Rachel, but also Charlie as well!
The story immediately subverts expectations with a twist early on that recontextualizes the entirety of Emma’s character. They beautifully showcase how the situation not only is testing the relationship between Charlie and Emma, but also the relationships with their friends as well. The film also utilizes some amazing visuals to show how each character interprets a situation, playing various scenarios back to back that shows the methodical process Charlie and Emma think.
Considering the film tackles such a difficult subject matter, I was quite impressed with how it handled in such a mature and thoughtful way. While it in no way supports such actions, it does well to humanize the people behind them (like Emma) and serve as a harrowing reminder that these are real people who are depressed and psychologically challenged. The relationship between Emma and Charlie reflects on how people could not only cope with these traumatic events, but learn to overcome them and not let it define their actions.
The cast overall does an amazing job elevating this spectacular script, with Robert Pattinson delivering a nuanced performance as Charlie. While at times he does say his lines more like Edward from Twilight, he balances it with the more heavier and dramatic moments that challenge the psyche of his character. Zendaya also delivers arguably a career-best performance, elegantly balancing the trauma and suppressed anger of her character. Other supporting stars like Alana Haim, Hailey Gates, and Mamoudou Athie anchor the film with their incredibly devoted performances.
The cinematography brilliantly showcases not only the sporadic and heartbreaking nature of the story, but brilliantly visualizes Charlie and Emma’s inner thoughts to perfection! Director Kristoffer Borgli brilliantly visualizes these sequences in such a dreamy but heightened state that wonderfully compliments the film’s darker tone. The slick camerawork amplifies the tension and chaos to such a degree that immerses the audience right in the moment!
While the film may have been advertised as a romantic drama, it’s clear this was intentional to subvert audience expectations and challenge them to watch the twist unfold organically in the story. From the way it expertly handles its tough subject matter to the phenomenal direction from Kristoffer Borgli, audiences are sure to be in for a wild ride with this flick. Robert Pattinson and Zendaya let The Drama unfold in one of the most thrilling, subversive films in years!
The Drama is now playing in theaters.
Rating: ★★★★☆
