Acclaimed independent film company A24 returns to theaters with The Drama, a film starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya that leans into provoking intense and unsettling emotions.
It was released in theaters on April 3.
The story follows a young couple and the different shades of their relationship as they move toward engagement. Everything seems to be going well until one night, during an intimate dinner with friends, they decide to reveal their darkest secrets.
Emma, played by Zendaya, shares her secrets, which deeply disrupts her bond with Charlie, played by Pattinson, as well as the way her close circle begins to see her.
Written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, the film maintains his creative signature style. Chaotic, uncomfortable, yet sharp and agile in its moments of comedy, a style already present in works like 2023’s Dream Scenario.
A24 stands out for its carefully crafted visual aesthetics and inventive approach—The Drama is no exception.
The movie manages to evoke the spirit of the ’90s and early 2000s romantic comedies, though filtered through a darker, more unsettling lens.
Pattinson and Zendaya showcase remarkable versatility, shaping a couple that feels tender, confused and emotionally fractured.
Although the film carries romantic undertones, love is not its true protagonist. The narrative arc is filled with unexpected turns that leave the viewer in a constant state of unease, with no clear sense of what will come next.
The movie also has noticeable gaps. While Emma’s secret is given an explanation, the stance of other characters remains blurred.
An unavoidable question arises, why does the secret shared by Charlie and his friends, equally cynical, fail to generate the same impact as Emma’s? Emma is the only one who seems to bear the consequences.
Rachel, who is Emma’s maid of honor, rejects Emma in a palpable way, but the film never fully clarifies the root of this. Is it envy, jealousy or something deeper? What is clear is that this hostility only intensifies after the revelation.
The Drama tackles sensitive themes that inevitably divide opinion. Its central moral dilemma places the audience in an uncomfortable position, offering no easy answers.
Beyond that, the story raises a haunting question: how much can we truly know the person we love? What happens when we are confronted with their most broken side?
It is a film unafraid to expose and unsettle and engage you with themes many consider taboo. In doing so, it leaves not only its characters in crisis but the audience as well.
