The Drama
The Drama
Starring Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Alana Haim, Mamoudou Athie
Directed by Kristoffer Borgli
How well do you really know someone? Do you know their complete history, their ins-and-outs of what they've been through in their life that led them to this moment? What if you found out a deep, dark secret about your partner days before getting married? Would you still go through with it, or understand that the event is in the past and who they are now isn't who they were then - or are they? A24 tackles the romantic comedy subgenre with "The Drama," and in true A24 fashion it totally abandons the comedy part and instead centers on two flawed characters whose past comes back to haunt them in an unending unsettling film that raises important questions that aren't easy to answer.
The day Charlie Thompson (Robert Pattinson) meets Emma Harwood (Zendaya) in a local coffee shop is the best day of Charlie's life - he pretends to have read the book Emma is reading in order to get an "in" to talk to her, and the two become instantly infatuated with one another. Not soon after he proposes and the two begin planning their wedding, with Charlie working on his vows with his best man Mike (Mamoudou Athie) and Emma talking to her friend and Mike's husband Rachel (Alana Haim) about how she never really had a boyfriend or a crush before. A few nights before the wedding Mike challenges all four of them to tell their darkest secret, and everyone shares until it's Emma's turn - and the story she tells immediately turns Rachel against her, and frightens Charlie so much he's not sure he can go through with the wedding. Tensions build between the couple as the day approaches, threatening to turn their happiest day into the worst day of their lives.
The Good:
"The Drama" reminds me of last year's "Die My Love" which also starred Robert Pattinson and focused on a couple on the brink of separation due to their incompatibility. However, "The Drama" does it better by being more subdued and grounded in reality, focusing on the quiet moments between the couple with tension you could cut with a plastic knife. There's not a moment after "the event" where you don't feel incredibly nervous and on-edge, much like the characters in the movie do, and that has to do with the incredible talents of Robert Pattinson and Zendaya, who are allowed to let loose and showcase their strengths.
For Pattinson, it's his ability to be the everyman, to be soft-tempered and mild-mannered even in the midst of hardship. Charlie is a deeply flawed individual, having essentially manipulated Emma at the start with lying about having read the book she's reading, but is so charming it's almost acceptable. After Emma reveals her secret, Charlie plunges into self-doubt and paranoia, focusing so much on what happened in her past that he can't shake it, leading him to wonder if he can still go through with the marriage.
Zendaya, on the other hand, is the strong and defiant one of the pair, not afraid to speak her mind or even yell at a motorist that almost hit them crossing the street while Charlie tells her to let it go. She's not afraid to tell it like it is, but after she reveals her secret she also shrinks back and focuses instead on her body to tell the story. A facial expression, a certain body moment of hers speaks volumes, and she can perfectly emote through voice and action where you feel both sympathy for her, but also understand why Charlie would suddenly be so apprehensive toward her.
While the focus is rightly centered on Pattinson and Zendaya, Alana Haim stands out as Emma's maid of honor Rachel, who is easily the biggest villain in the movie. She goes from being friends with Emma to hating her with vitriolic fervor after the secret is revealed, and serves as the powder keg in the movie where you never expect what she will do next.
The secret itself is compelling and thought-provoking, and will raise a lot of debate after watching the movie as to whether or not someone's past really dictates who they are now, and whether or not those inclinations still remain. It's hard to review it without giving it away, but needless to say it's a shocking admission and reverberates throughout the entire film.
The Bad:
At almost two hours, the film could've benefited if it had cut about ten or so minutes from the runtime, especially in the middle where it seems to meander its way through the story.
The Verdict:
Even though the middle section slogs a bit and could've been better if it was a bit shorter, "The Drama" does what the title insists - it creates enough drama to carry itself through to the bitter end, keeping you on your toes the entire time.
The Score: A+
- Jordyn Curet as young Emma
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