moviebirb.org

Robert Pattinson and Zendaya give life to a story that keeps you guessing until the very end

Review by Sean Blanford

Questions…they are the thing that makes the world understandable. It can give you guidance, educated you, and can lead to decisions that can make a good day great and even change your life, for better or for worse. If it’s something like what do you want for dinner, there’s no really wrong answers, except, maybe, I don’t know, you decide. Where is the bathroom can be a lifesaver. Now how about this one: What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done? If you heard that question, how would you react? Would your mind race? Would your palms get sweaty as you sit in your seat fidgeting wondering if you should lie and hope your friends don’t call your bluff, or just tell the truth and let the chips fall as they may.

That is the central focus of the new A24 film The Drama, starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya as an engaged couple one week out from their wedding. During the pairs dinner tasting/impromptu wine outing with their best friends Mike (Mamoudou Athie) and Rachel (Alana Haim), the question is asked. As this was something Mike and Rachel did before their wedding, they share their truths, despite reluctance from Charlie and Emma. However, once it gets to the end and Emma shares her truth, it leads the story into an entirely different direction, and how the four of them deal with Emma’s bombshell of not what the worst thing she did was, but it being the worst thing she almost did.

I’m not going to spoil what the secret is. There are plenty of other reviewers that have, and if you really wanted to know, you can find out. With that out of the way, Emma’s secret is going to divide audiences, not just in asking if it needed to be so timely and massive, but will divide them on who’s side you are on. Do you side with Emma who is trying to explain her past and what caused her to get to the point where she did, or are you going to side with Charlie as the fiancee who thought he knew his partner and is reacting to the sudden news the only way he knows how? Maybe you side with Rachel, who has a vested interest in what Emma’s secret is. Or, maybe you’re the Mike, who sits back and is the supporter of everyone…except Emma.

Emma is kind of on an island in all of this, and Zendaya gives such a multi-layered performance that you feel for her to the point where she’s the only one to root for. She is truly at the center of the story, but it becomes less and less about her as the film goes along. There is so much going on here that for most of the films runtime it works, but then it gets to the point where it’s more Charlie’s story and not Charlie and Emma’s where it’s a little disappointing that she ends up being a backstage player. This should be from her point of view, from start to finish, and her perspective on how her friends and loved ones are reacting. That is not the case, and a much better film could have been made if it was.

So much good is put into the craft of the movie with its use of timelines and slightly non-linear storytelling that makes the story interesting. Zedaya and Pattinson really feel like a couple going through a life-changing revelation, but much like director Kristoffer Borgli’s previous film Dream Scenario, the third act doesn’t live up to the first two. The ending of the film will make you think, and you may leave the theater wondering what was going on and just throw your hands in the air, and some will think that this wasn’t the soft rom-com you thought you were getting (thank you A24 marketing). For me, while it doesn’t fully land, it makes some sense given what we watched for previous 90-or-so minutes. It really reshaped my thoughts on the movie in what Charlie said was his secret and not what Emma did, (or didn’t do) though, and that is saying something. Whether or not it was intentional is your decision to make, but I wanted this to be more about the couple than the individuals.

With great performances by the lead actors and a nerve-wracking score by composer Daniel Pemberton, The Drama might not be the romantic comedy you expect, but is rather the psychological dark comedy you didn’t even expect. More than anything else, it’s about not judging people you love by the individual by the worst thing they’ve ever done. If you truly take the time and effort to find that somebody that makes you smile every time you speak to them, adore their laugh, and make you want to pull down their pants to break tension, do whatever you can to keep them. It sometimes doesn’t happen for everyone, but if it does, never let that go.

What are your thoughts on The Drama? Keep comments spoiler-free down below, and while everyone is entitled to their opinion, let’s keep the conversation clean. We’re all here to have fun, right?