SPOILER: This column contains potential spoilers for “The Drama.”
Editor’s note: This column discusses violent themes.
Released on April 3, A24’s new film “The Drama,” directed and written by Kristoffer Borgli, asks big questions about unconditional love, forgiveness and if people can really change and grow. Ultimately though, it only half delivers on its premise.
Starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, the film follows Emma and Charlie, a young couple in Boston very close to getting married when an unexpected turn puts their love to the test. It’s a dark comedy that definitely leans more into the “dark” than the comedy, constantly revolving around one main question: What is the worst thing you have ever done?
The movie opens with the couple’s awkward first meeting in a coffee shop. Emma is reading a fictional book called “The Damage,” hinting at her secret. When she steps away, Charlie snaps a photo and looks it up to pretend he’s read it. He awkwardly tries to start a conversation, which fails at first, and then Emma asks, “Do you just want to start over?” That’s a line that becomes important later.
The rest of the film takes place two years later, in the days leading up to Emma and Charlie’s wedding.
In the weeks leading up to its release, the film’s marketing built a lot of curiosity around a twist revealed within the first 20 minutes — one I was definitely not expecting.
The tension builds during a dinner scene when the couple tastes wedding menu options with their friends, Mike (Mamoudou Athie) and Rachel (Alana Haim). In the conversation, the four start sharing the worst things they have ever done. Mike shares he once pushed a former girlfriend into a rabid dog to save himself, and Rachel confesses she locked a child in a closet for over a day. Charlie vaguely admits to bullying someone when he was younger. But when it’s Emma’s turn, she drunkenly reveals a secret that changes everything.
Emma admits she once planned, but did not carry out, a school shooting, leaving both the characters on screen and the audience stunned.
From there, the film spirals into increasingly chaotic and uncomfortable situations as Charlie struggles to process what he’s learned about his fiancée, slowly driving him to the edge. He is forced to confront what unconditional love really means and at what point certain actions, or even thoughts, become unforgivable.
While the film is, on the surface, thought provoking, it only really half delivers on its premise.
The film features flashbacks to 15-year-old Emma being influenced by aesthetics often associated with male shooters, but the film doesn’t take the time to really unpack that. Her confession itself isn’t specific or deeply explored, and while mental health is briefly mentioned, it’s never fully examined in a meaningful way.
There’s also very little attention given to Emma’s identity as a Black woman or how that might shape her experiences and emotions growing up. The film only vaguely explores how she was bullied as a child and the trauma, but that makes the character feel underdeveloped. Because of this, Emma comes across less as a fully complex person and more as an idea the film introduces but doesn’t fully commit to exploring.
“The Drama” briefly touches on American culture and its connection to violence, suggesting that many people might have intrusive thoughts that go unseen in society. But once again, it never explores these ideas in a meaningful way, instead returning again and again to awkward, humor-filled scenes that felt distracting rather than insightful.
Throughout the film, Emma defuses uncomfortable situations by pretending she doesn’t know Charlie, acting if they were meeting again for the first time. This recurring behavior highlights the couple’s tendency to avoid confrontation, even when serious issues are at stake, especially after it’s revealed that Charlie cheated on Emma. The motif comes full circle at the end of the film, when Emma’s early question, “Do you want to start over?” plays out: the couple essentially resets their relationship, simply forgiving each other.
While the ending can feel satisfying, since forgiveness makes for an easy watch, I thought it also undermines the complexity of their experiences throughout the film, making it feel more like a convenient ending than a genuine, thoughtful resolution.
