When ignorance is bliss: A review of 'The Drama'
Written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, who hails from Norway, A24's The Drama is a modern relationship movie that wants to be the new face of RomCom. It stars Zendaya and Robert Pattinson as Emma and Charlie, a couple who live together and are about to get married, when we are first introduced to them. One dominant theme of the film is the danger of knowing too much about one’s partner - whether there could be instances when a little bit of ignorance is called for, and can actually help keep the relationship humming.
Borgli is best known for Dream Scenario, which starred Nicolas Cage and actually earned the actor a couple of acting nominations when it came out. In that film, Borgli blended the European slow-burning approach to filmmaking with an absurdist premise about inhabiting dreams and taking it to illogical conclusions that were fun and fresh. So the challenge with this new film was how to make the relationship between our two lovers balance between satire and black comedy on one hand, and sincere social commentary and keeping it relatable on the other hand. Quite a balancing act for the director and cast!
The basic premise is that, days before the wedding, the couple's relationship is tested when the two, along with the best friend of the groom-to-be and his wife, play a game of what’s the worst thing they've ever done in their lives. A revelation from one of the intended sends metaphorical shock waves within the foursome, and it's especially potent in the case of the partner and how it changes so much of how that partner will now look at the other.
Emma Harwood (Zendaya) works in a city bookstore and grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, while Charlie Harwood (Robert Pattinson) is a British museum director working in the USA. There are scenes of their first meet-cute and of how Charlie built up the nerve to approach her at a coffee shop. Mamadou Athie plays Mike, the best friend of Charlie, and Alana Haim is Rachel, Mike’s partner. Zoë Winters, as a wedding photographer, is one of those memorable bit roles, as she provides one of the most awkward/hilarious sequences of the film. Similarly, the scene with the wedding planner/dance-routine instructor is priceless, as it deftly showcases how much of the personal and real has been stripped from weddings for the sake of the performative and social-media-ready.
Pattinson starts off the film as if he’s doing an impression of early-career Hugh Grant, and I found that somewhat distracting. Fortunately for us, the film’s plot thickens, and he drops this affectation. Zendaya is more consistent throughout the film, but she just isn’t challenged to do all that much. The flashbacks and dream sequences carry the film's narrative humor, and kudos to the editing for bringing this out.
The relationship of the central couple is shaken when one partner discovers some truths about the other - and this is what lies at the core of what this film would seem to want to say. Be careful of wanting to know everything; that kind of knowledge isn’t worth it at times, and only impinges on the ‘Now’ that was in perfect working order. The Drama is a minor, slight film, but it does know how to set its pace and raise the right questions. It opens in cinemas this April 4; and should make for interesting conversations after watching the film.