This article includes spoilers for \u201cThe Drama.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Lately, there seems to be an appetite for atypical romance films that subvert the genre with social commentary about the world around us rather than a sweeping love story. That trend seemed most apparent last year with Celine Song\u2019s sophomore film \u201cThe Materialists<\/a>,\u201d a thoughtful look at modern dating culture, released by A24.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Now, nearly a year later, A24 returns with another offbeat romance steeped in societal reflection: \u201cThe Drama,\u201d director Kristoffer Borgli\u2019s dark spin on a rom-com starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Like most romances tested by conflict, Borgli centers his film around the fallout of a moral dilemma: Could you forgive the person you love most for the worst thing they\u2019ve ever done \u2014 even if it contradicts everything you stand for?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Those are the tough questions the film poses, as a long-buried secret implodes a happily engaged couple\u2019s relationship on the eve of their wedding.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n According to Borgli, \u201cThe Drama\u201d revolves around the idea of stress-testing two people who are \u201chead over heels in love, and who maybe never considered there could be more to the other person.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about the power of love \u2014 an emotional state you don\u2019t get to control, and how complicated that becomes when your feelings are at odds with your rationale,\u201d the director continued in the film\u2019s production notes. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWhen that balance slips,\u201d he added, \u201cyou find yourself inside a crucial dilemma.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cDilemma\u201d is a bit of a mild description for the conflict at the heart of \u201cThe Drama.\u201d Early on, the film veers into controversial territory, tackling a rather sensitive subject \u2014 one that has <\/span>already caught backlash online<\/span><\/a> \u2014 with its protagonists. However, it struggles to fully explore its implications for those impacted by it and its message at large, if there\u2019s even one to take away.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Despite the warnings in its title, \u201cThe Drama\u201d hardly encapsulates all the chaos that ensues in the film. In fact, the nature of the film\u2019s big reveal is far darker than many would expect from what\u2019s been marketed as \u201cthe wedding of the year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Even so, that grim twist sends Borgli\u2019s calamitous tale off the rails in the most tumultuous, unsettling and, at times, questionable ways.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n You\u2019d never guess just how unhinged \u201cThe Drama\u201d eventually becomes based on its subtle opening: an awkward coffee shop meet-cute between Charlie (Pattinson) and Emma (Zendaya). Charlie, a bumbling museum curator, tries to make a move after noticing (rather stalking) Emma from across the room. When she briefly steps away from her seat, he sneaks over to check the title of her book she\u2019s been reading, quickly googling it so he can fake a shared interest. By the time Charlie finally works up the nerve to approach Emma, he\u2019s so caught up in his rambling pickup attempt that he fails to notice she\u2019s deaf in one ear and blasting music through earphones in the other.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Despite the painfully clumsy introduction, the two eventually go on a first date, then another, and before long, they fall deep enough in love that Charlie is certain he wants to marry Emma.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Granted, there\u2019s not much build-up to this supposedly sweeping romance, despite the way Charlie swoons over it in the wedding speech he prepares with his best man and friend, Mike (Mamoudou Athie). We\u2019re never quite shown what compels him and Emma to want to spend a lifetime together. And yet, somehow the film convinces us that these two are soulmates ready to walk down the aisle \u2014 even if they don\u2019t know everything there is to know about one another.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n That becomes evident one evening as Emma and Charlie are joined by Mike and his feisty wife, Rachel (a fantastic Alana Haim) \u2014 also Emma\u2019s maid of honor \u2014 for a wedding wine tasting. Sitting around the table together, the group decides to play a game of \u201cWhat\u2019s the worst thing you\u2019ve ever done?\u201d One by one, they share confessions.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Rachel recalls once locking a mentally impaired boy she found annoying in a cabin closet overnight. Charlie mentions cyberbullying someone as a kid. Both pretty bad, yes, but Emma\u2019s avowal eclipses them all.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n After some hesitation, Emma confesses to a secret she\u2019s held since she was 15: She once came close to carrying out a school shooting.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n There\u2019s <\/span>lots<\/span><\/em> of unpacking that happens afterward, but the fallout of Emma\u2019s admission is what inspires the title of \u201cThe Drama,\u201d most of which follows Charlie\u2019s spiral in the days leading up to, and even on, his wedding day.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The name of the film could also just as easily describe the discourse that has surrounded \u201cThe Drama\u201d the last few months, between leaked spoilers on Reddit and last week\u2019s <\/span>TMZ report<\/span><\/a> in which a parent of a student killed in the 1999 Columbine High School massacre condemned the film\u2019s \u201cawful\u201d school shooting storyline.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Admittedly, the film\u2019s bombshell is difficult to make sense of between its moments of discomfort and dark humor. That tension feels somewhat intentional on Borgli\u2019s part, as if he aimed to make a film that would purposely leave audiences morally conflicted \u2014 or at least spark spirited debates with a supposedly \u201cedgy\u201d twist. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Yet as that twist unfolds in \u201cThe Drama,\u201d it never feels as bold as the film seems to think it is, which may be its biggest flaw.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n In the weeks since screening \u201cThe Drama\u201d at its Los Angeles premiere, it\u2019s been interesting to see how the film has been consumed in real life versus what unfolds on-screen, particularly as it concerns Zendaya.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The A-list actor\u2019s name dominates nearly every headline tied to the film, positive or negative. Her <\/span>fashion-staple status has also kept the spotlight on her <\/a>red-carpet and promo tour looks<\/a> that<\/span> have driven even more buzz around the hotly anticipated film.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Pattinson](\"https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/69cbef5e240000f2f530a41a.png?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale&format=webp)
<\/picture><\/div>\n![\"Zendaya](\"https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/69cbefac1700007ef876eb12.png?cache=ucGeDPVbJF&ops=scalefit_720_noupscale&format=webp)
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