By Audrey Elwood, Campus News Editor 

“The Drama” is the newest release out of A24, starring Robert Pattinson as Charlie and Zendaya as Emma, and it follows a seemingly ideal couple right before their wedding day. While the movie centers around a big twist that happens right at the beginning, it still keeps the audience on their toes throughout the almost two hour run time. 

Whilst out to dinner with their friends Rachel and Mike, played by Alana Ham and Mamoudou Athie, respectively, Charlie and Emma are prompted to share the worst thing they have ever done in preparation for their wedding. They do not want any secrets between them.  

After hearing their friends’ confessions, Charlie reveals that he cyberbullied a kid into moving towns when he was a teenager, while Emma reveals a troubling secret that changes the way the table looks at her. Charlie then has to grapple with this information in the week leading up to the wedding.

One of the funniest parts of the movie is Rachel as a character. She is performative and blissfully unaware. Ham did a great job in making her simultaneously unhateable and unlikeable, which is the hardest type of character to pull off. 

 Rachel cannot take accountability for anything, and constantly bullies and harasses Emma. She constantly commits microaggressions against her husband Mike and Emma, while constantly diminishing the effects of her actions. She feels like a representation of internet trolls who go way overboard on cancellations. 

Truthfully, the movie is mainly dialogue and New York scenery, but the editing is spectacular. The way it is stitched together makes the movie feel fast-paced and alive. If  “The Drama” had the editing style of a traditional movie, it would be unwatchable. The only way it could have been more engaging was if there was a split screen of “Family Guy” clips or Subway Surfers. 

This film was not slated to be Pattinson’s or Zendaya’s best work, but it still delivered. Zendaya’s character was surprisingly flat for someone with such a complex backstory, though it added to the development of the movie. She had clearly healed from her past, which made her seem normal, rather than a psychopath. Meanwhile, Pattinson’s character slowly devolves into madness, a character he has become quite good at from his experiences in “Tenet” and “The Lighthouse.” They were solid performances but not standouts. 

Overall, the theme of this movie relies on performance in social settings. Emma’s secret pinned the table against her, but she was able to redeem herself to her fiancee. She is able to convince Charlie that she has changed since her teenage years and that she found her redemption in those years.

In the first part of the movie, Charlie is constantly worried about image more than connection. When his world shatters, he immediately acts out. This ultimately leads up to the climax of the movie, the wedding, where he is unhinged. The largest social performance of his life goes to the wayside because he cannot keep on going with the concerning information he learned.  

Ultimately, “The Drama” was better than anticipated. Pattinson and Zendaya’s performances were good, but not their standouts. Ham better be in more productions ASAP. There was profound social commentary on morality and forgiveness, which I could barely scrape the surface of. It highlighted how abhorrent Emma’s intent was, without closing off her door of redemption. Posing the question of how unconditional love really is, “The Drama” is complex and camp, without being diminutive, a gargantuan feat.