Following the razor-sharp social satires Sick of Myself and Dream Scenario, Norwegian writer-director Kristoffer Borgli returns with The Drama, a dark romantic comedy that shifts his lens from global influencer and attention obsession to the fragility of human rapports. Backed by A24 and co-produced by Ari Aster, the film plays out quite like a digestible Lars von Trier experiment, examining the facades, truths, and radical acceptances that dictate our closest relationships.
The story drops us into the lives of Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Robert Pattinson), a happily engaged couple navigating their wedding week in New York, going from dance rehearsals to a fun-starting degustation session with friends. Through playful, non-linear flashbacks, we watch Charlie construct his wedding speech, recalling their sweet, quirky beginnings – including a hilariously disastrous coffee shop meet-cute where Charlie tried to pitch a novel to a half-deaf Emma (yikes!). But while giving a final test to the wedding menu, a casual conversation about the absolute worst thing each person has ever done triggers an unexpected moral test, sending their mutual perceptions, and the opinions of their friends, completely off the rails. No spoilers, but I think the casus belli that Borgli invented is genius.
The Norwegian auteur teamed up again with cinematographer Arseni Khachaturan (Bones and All), and made a film that leans heavily into gorgeous, natural lighting and brave uses of contrast and warmth. Borgli delights in challenging his audience, using swift, Western-style zooms, quick cutaways, and reordered timelines that demand strict attention to detail – blink and you’ll miss a crucial mug thrown into a trash can, or a brilliant two-second nod to David Lynch’s Blue Velvet ear sequence. Composer Daniel Pemberton (Slow Horses, Steve Jobs) matches this hyper-ambitious energy perfectly, delivering an out-of-the-box, sensitive score that injects an erratic, thrilling clock-tick into the couple’s chaos.
Yet, despite its box office triumph (grossing an impressive $125 million against a sub-$30 million budget), it would be a lie to say The Drama is seamless. The film’s biggest narrative shortcoming lies in its evasion of the feminine perspective. Quite early on, the script shifts entirely to Charlie’s headspace as he processes new information, bypassing Emma and turning Zendaya’s equally vital character into an anxiety-ridden, passive bystander. Borgli proves he still has room to grow in balancing his ensembles, heavily favoring the male lead’s arc over the internal life of his bride.
Furthermore, the central romance suffers from a distinct lack of romantic chemistry. While Pattinson and Zendaya are perfect during the film’s playful, comedic beats, the emotional and intimate scenes fall flat. Instead of a deeply bonded, passionate couple on the verge of marriage, they frequently exude a platonic, “sibling vibe” that makes it difficult to fully invest in their romantic tragedy. This emotional disconnect makes the film’s transition into the wedding – and its jarring, out-of-a-dream-unrealistic finale – feel a bit unearned and quite frankly uninteresting.
Even with these cracks in the foundation, The Drama remains a vital, thought-provoking movie. It poses brilliant, uncomfortable moral dilemmas: If we knew everything about our significant other, would we ever say yes to a first date? Would we even want to be friends, not to mention more than friends with them? At what point does unconditional love become self-destructive compliance? By testing how we isolate or embrace those who fail our ethical standards, Borgli holds a mirror up to our modern culture of hyper-judgment as well. But where do boundaries end, and judgment begins?
The Drama is currently available to rent on Prime Video and Apple TV, or available to stream via HBO Max.
~ by Dora Endre ~
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