Robert Pattinson, top, and Zendaya in “The Drama.” Credit: A24 via TNS
What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?
That is the question central to Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli’s third feature, “The Drama,” a hyper-critical and thematically loaded examination of infatuation and aestheticism.?
Zendaya and Robert Pattinson play Emma and Charlie, a couple whose impending marriage crumbles after a shocking confession. It’s no secret that the marketing has danced around a secret kept by Emma, but what the secret is has been widely unknown to moviegoers.?
Thankfully, it does not disappoint.
“The Drama” opens with Charlie spotting Emma at a coffee shop. She’s deep in a book, one that Charlie hasn’t read. To impress her, Charlie skims the Goodreads page before approaching her. She has an earbud in her left ear and, though Charlie approaches from her right side and begins speaking, she cannot hear him. It is quickly revealed that Emma is deaf in her right ear. The two restart the interaction and two years later, they are engaged and set to marry.
During a dinner a few days before their wedding, Emma, Charlie and his two friends Mike (Mamoudou Athie) and Rachel (Alanna Haim) ask the question, “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?” What’s revealed is the twist at the center of this film’s discussion. The following 80 minutes explore the fallout of this reveal.
Borgli is no stranger to social commentary. His 2022 debut fiction feature, “Sick of Myself,” sets its sights on a relationship collapsing under the weight of influencer culture, narcissism and jealousy. Borgli’s second feature and first English-language film, “Dream Scenario,” was released in 2024 and focuses on fame, specifically how it drives the couple at the center of the story apart.?
In the same thematic vein, “The Drama” is absorbed in how a relationship based on infatuation and intrigue can dissolve when the two parties begin to learn more about each other. The severity and relevance of this twist is a big swing, one that Borgli takes advantage of and uses to its fullest potential.?
It’s a risky play, but the writing is clever enough that the subject matter never feels as if it is being disrespectful to anyone affected by it; rather, it uses the trappings of Emma’s past to examine how people can change, what draws us to each other and how relationships can collapse in an instant.
Emma and Charlie’s relationship is built purely off Charlie’s surface-level attraction to Emma. The two, despite being engaged, know next to nothing about each other, a sentiment echoed in both of their planned wedding speeches. When Emma reveals something truly deep about herself, Charlie turns tail and begins to rethink their entire relationship. It is an excellent way to show how he is in love with the idea of Emma, not so much her as an actual person.?
Despite the incident in Emma’s confession happening nearly 15 years ago, and the fact that she has changed and grown since then, the characters remain hung up on the matter, refusing to see her for who she is over how she was. By the end of the film, the questions being asked are, “Where do we draw the line? What is deemed acceptable? Can people truly change?”
Although audiences will likely come away divided on the question, that is the mark of a film like this one doing its job. Borgli wants to make people uncomfortable, forcing them to stare at modern problems head-on, all while daring us to laugh. Borgli recognizes the severity of the concept he’s playing with and manages to find the humor in it.?
Each scene becomes increasingly uncomfortable until the nigh-unwatchable final act, but the absurdity of the situation keeps a darkly comedic throughline pulsing the entire runtime. Part of the discomfort of the film is wondering if, when and why the audience should be laughing, but it never takes away from the heavy subject matter at the center of the story.
“The Drama” is not a film for everyone, but it is a film everyone should see. It is not often that films like this are released, much less with stars like Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. It is a daring, boundary-pushing film, but those who take the time to hear what it says will be talking about this for a long time.?
Rating: 4/5
