Romance movies are typically filled with the same stereotypes that dominate Hollywood, which makes almost every movie you watch feel the same. However, what happens when a movie decides to throw away the cliché stereotypes and opt for something completely different? ”The Drama,” is the latest romance movie to hit theaters, with a seemingly innocent, predictable plot that quickly turns into an unexpected psychological thriller.
The movie follows Emma Harwood (Zendaya) and Charlie Thompson (Robert Pattinson), the film’s two love interests, as they approach their wedding. Directed by Kristoffer Borgli and distributed by A24, “The Drama” is a brilliant, yet shockingly disturbing take on romance films.
When Emma and Charlie meet in a coffee shop, the movie leads you to believe that you’re watching yet another typical romance movie. A seemingly unimportant detail that Charlie learns when meeting Emma, which turns out to be the foundation for the movie’s twist, is that Emma is deaf in one ear. At the beginning of the film, the movie follows Charlie as he writes his wedding speech, offering a unique look into the couple’s relationship.
Borgli does a phenomenal job of captivating the audience through the camera, with typical A24 cinematography and a minimal yet effective soundtrack that mirrors each scene’s overall mood. Borgli uses the same soundtrack across multiple scenes, which works in the movie’s favor by creating a sense of security leading up to the twist.
During the food and wine tasting for the wedding, Emma and Charlie are joined by Mike (Mamoudou Athie), Charlie’s college friend, and his wife, Rachel (Alana Haim). Completely drunk, Rachel says that they should all go around and say the worst thing that they’ve done, and begins pressuring her husband, Charlie, to go first. This whole scene in the movie was pretty disturbing, and the whole theater was completely silent until it was Emma’s turn, when she said that she planned a school shooting and almost went through with it.
The entire experience of this movie was shaped by the audience’s reactions in the theater, as without them, I think I would’ve left the movie with completely different feelings. From the moment Emma admitted to planning a school shooting, the film takes a completely different turn. Charlie is left grappling with the fact that his soon-to-be wife is a psycho. We see Charlie begin to reason with himself, which sends him down his own rabbit hole of inner monologue.
“The Drama” is a movie that, without the right director and production, could have been an absolute disaster. Fortunately, Borgli and A24 saved the movie from falling off a cliff. In today’s environment, centering a movie around school shootings is risky, especially when your main character is trying to do everything in his power to forgive Emma and move past what could have been a life-changing situation. Despite the fact that “The Drama” does most things right with its plot, I do think there were a handful of “insensitive” moments.
During the wedding setup, the DJ is setting up the speakers when a gunshot sound plays through one of them. This moment was worse than most jump scares I’ve seen in horror movies, especially coming from the loud theater speakers. I did genuinely see other people in the theater visibly jump and look behind them as if they believed there could have been an actual gunshot in the theater. While I understand that this scene was meant to allude to the theme of guns throughout the film, I personally wasn’t a fan of it.
Regardless, “The Drama” is one of the most interesting films I’ve seen in recent years. The phenomenal cast, paired with A24 and Borgli’s work, makes for a pretty fantastic film that sheds light on many of the problems in today’s society. While “The Drama” has some moments that might not be for everyone, the overall viewing experience was definitely worthwhile, and a movie that I won’t forget.
