****
Details of what The Drama is about have been kept tight. For those who want to know as little as possible about a film before seeing it, the marketing campaign engineered by distribution company A24 has been extremely effective.
When your film is led by superstars yet to be seen together on-screen – as is the case here with Zendaya and Robert Pattinson – not much further motivation is needed to entice the moviegoing mainstream.
However, the idea to post an advertisement of their characters’ wedding in a real edition of The Boston Globe was an ingenious ploy to build more curiosity. Following that amusing tease, the trailers and promotional images have made only one thing clear: the film will feature a wedding.
Everything surrounding that fact remains shrouded in mystery. Having now seen the film, marketing teams should really take inspiration from this, because the film’s impact rests in how it disarms the viewer, dramatically challenging their expectations. This film needs to be seen knowing as little as possible. Take the element of mystery away, and I cannot imagine The Drama having the same, provocative effect.
Charlie (Pattinson ) and Emma’s (Zendaya ) wedding day is imminent. While making the final arrangements, an unexpected moment of honesty shared with their married friends Rachel (Alana Haim ) and Mike (Mamoudou Athie ), suddenly complicates their relationship.
This is director Kristoffer Borgli’s third film after Sick of Myself (2023 ) and English-language debut Dream Scenario (2023 ). They are well worth watching for their biting humour and fascinatingly flawed protagonists. Nicolas Cage’s image is used in a surprisingly self-aware way to great effect in Dream Scenario, and The Drama repeats that with Zendaya. Given her enormous fame and history of playing likeable, empowered female characters, this film substantially mutes her charisma and magnetism. Emma is muted, cold and slightly unnerving.
It is a different role for Zendaya, and she performs her character’s emotional fragility believably. It can be difficult for two omnipresent celebrities to have on-screen chemistry but I never questioned the relationship’s plausibility.
Pattinson especially seems like he can fit into any role. Just a few months ago, he faced a similar position alongside Jennifer Lawrence in Die, My Love and despite the similar dynamic, he shows his versatility here, showcasing some impressive emotional and physical gymnastics.
I appreciated the characterisations of Emma and Charlie.
They seem recognisable in our own world with their vocabulary and attitudes, but when the tables turn, their less attractive traits begin to appear, and the clear surface begins to crack.
Borgli finds a blackly comic tone in how he depicts his characters’ chaotic psychological descent. The film is inventive in how it communicates the awkwardness of the characters, and strangeness of the story; editing cuts that meld past and present, giving us a window into people’s discomfiting, paranoid thoughts. This may provoke some uneasy laughter at the bizarreness of what unfolds.
The film does not quite develop its central premise as boldly as I would have liked. It pushes too hard for comedy at times, exemplified by an uninspired musical score. It diverts from what would have been a more compelling film had it tackled its spiky subject matter in a more stone-faced manner.
But despite its shock element, The Drama astutely captures the agonizing feeling of uncertainty and doubt. When there are no concrete answers or explanations for something, you are left with your own perception and judgement. When the rest of your life hinges on that judgement, spiraling out does not seem too far-fetched.
4/5 stars
In Galway cinemas now
