Released on April 3, The Drama follows the aftermath of fiancées Emma Harwood (Zendaya) and Charlie Thompson (Robert Pattinson) confessing the worst things they’ve ever done at a dinner tasting just days before their wedding. Emma’s comes as a shot in the dark to their group of friends, causing Charlie, the maid of honor Rachel (Alaina Haim) and best man Mike (Mamoudou Athie) to turn on her, leaving the upcoming wedding in disarray. Balancing a cynical tone with tender scenes, The Drama is an excellent subversive rom-com and original film, building up tension to challenge and amuse its viewers through dark comedy.
After revealing their secrets, Emma is vilified by Charlie and their friend group, who immediately claim the moral high ground. However, throughout the film, The Drama slowly unveils their hypocrisy by exposing their immorality and own actions. Empathetic, Emma sees past others’ flaws and, unlike the treatment she receives, doesn’t define their entire personhood by it.
This exile adds to the tension built throughout the film; Charlie is terrified of Emma, and Emma is terrified of him leaving, shown through scenes imagining their worst-case scenarios. Emma’s treatment mirrors her childhood of bullying and exclusion, which led to her worst action.
Scenes are constantly broken up, switching back and forth between flashbacks, characters’ imagniation, and conflicts. Almost no conflict resolves itself immediately, scaling up the suspense and pulling viewers into the characters’ anxiety and fear.
Pattinson and Zendaya’s performances are marvelous in the film. Attempting to create the facadé that everything is fine on their wedding day, both characters’ microexpressions subtly convey their true feelings. Pattinson’s depiction of Charlie’s anxious meltdown and cycle of mistakes from the pressure of the wedding brilliantly captures his state of frenzy. In conversations, both often react with their faces first before saying anything else; in particular, Zendaya’s facial expressions reveal Emma’s true worries. Contrasting the film’s chaotic arguments — their silent expressions in scenes like their wedding portrait capture both of their dismays and anxieties perfectly.
Supporting characters, like Emma and Charlie’s photography (Zoë Winters) also expertly nail their comedic timing, even if their screentime lasts only a few minutes. From its entire cast, every actor is completely devoted to delivering a flawless performance.
Thematically, The Drama, contrasts Emma and Charlie as opposing characters, who learn to accept each other. As Charlie makes mistake after mistake and finds himself doing the worst thing he’s ever done, Emma can easily forgive him, as opposed to Charlie needing to be subjected to his worst fear of public humiliation to forgive Emma.
However, beyond Charlie and Emma, The Drama fails to flesh out most of its characters. Even Rachel and Mike — the two most developed supporting characters — are underutilized.
The Drama takes a classic rom-com trope and immediately subverts it, challenging the expectations of love, but ultimately ending with acceptance and the reassurance that Charlie and Emma truly know each other instead of vague ideas of each other. Toying with the ideas of public perception and true character, The Drama is an example to take after in original stories.
