Sometimes all you need to sell a movie is two lovable stars in the leading roles and a fun premise. It's too early to tell what the box office will look like this weekend, but based on the hype surrounding Norweigian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli's latest, it seems like we may have a golden example on our hands. A Robert Pattinson and Zendaya led romantic dramedy? What's not to get excited about?
The Drama follows Pattinson and Zendaya as Charlie and Emma, a couple getting ready for their wedding that is just a week away. The film opens on a very cute retelling of their meet cute shown through Charlie writing his speech for the wedding. At a dinner with their best man (Mamoudou Athie) and maid of honour (Alana Haim), their friends suggest they go around and each say the worst thing they've ever done. As the trailer suggests, Emma's answer is nothing any of them would have expected, Charlie included. Now seeing each other in new light, the already intense stress of wedding planning becomes heightened by this wrench thrown in the plans.
I'll watch basically anything, but I'll always get excited for a good romantic comedy, or a good dark comedy. Putting the two together makes things even more exciting, and Borgli is the perfect filmmaker to tackle this kind of tone. The early parts of the film are simply a ton of fun thanks to the natural charm and chemistry of the two leads, but once that shfit happens, The Drama commits to going dark without ever losing its comedic edge. The end result is something that will often leave you laughing but just as often make you feel a bit off for laughing. Naturally, a lot of the comedy lands because of the dynamic duo at the heart of the film. Pattinson especially makes for countless great moments as we ride alongside his whirwind of emotions at the person he loves possibly not being who he thought she was.
Zendaya plays her role more straight compared to a more comedic Pattinson performance, but hers is the one that allows the film's central themes to shine. Can we look at someone we love the same after learning something that completely goes against what we know about them? It's a fascinating question and Zendaya delivers a performance full of complexity and empathy. It's hard not to feel for her despite knowing her darkest secret, thanks largely to how she is turned on, especially by Haim's character. Haim is also pretty great, offering an almost scary opposition while Athie tries to play the middle a bit more. The emphasis is on Zendaya and RPatts, but those two in supporting roles are crucial. Also pretty important cast wise is Emma Stone lookalike Hailey Benton Gates, who has now stolen scenes in two movies already this year (the other being The Moment).
As great as the cast is, the real star of the show for me here was the editing. The way the opening cuts between the meet cute and Charlie writing his speech with Athie's character is a ton of fun, but what I loved most was the atmosphere the edit creates once the reveal happens. This movie genuinely feels like a bad dream, not a nightmare per se, but a dream you can't wait to get out of as chaos ensues around you. Seemingly normal moments have shots of non-diegetic imagery thrown in that put us squarely in the muddled headspace of our main characters, leading to a third act that will have you crawling into your own skin with the intense awkwardness on display.
If I were to level any complaints I'd say I wish there was a bit more humour in the middle act. I also do wish we got to know Charlie and Emma a bit more, not that we needed to know their entire story but I think each of them could have been fleshed out a bit deeper. On the whole though, I thought this was a blast. It's a dark romantic dramedy that left me perfectly uncomfortable but loving the ride from start to finish. 4/5
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