GENRE: Comedy; Drama;
DIRECTOR: Kristoffer Borgli
WRITER: Kristoffer Borgli
STARRING: Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Alana Haim, Mamoudou Athie, Hailey Gates and Zoe Winters
The thing about The Drama is that it has some big execution issues, but it still succeeds at building a rewarding cinematic experience due to the commitment of stars Zendaya and Robert Pattinson: they save this movie, which could go wrong with less capable actors. It's solid but it didn't live up to the hype it was able to build during the marketing campaign - which would make it a letdown, but it isn't since the whole third act excceed my expectations. Actually, The Drama has tea.
So... How does a movie with such a frail presentation succeed? Pattinson and Zendaya simply do the job! Together they explore their characters and make the audience fall in love with them while they are under pressure trying to figure it out themselves. The hardest task is Zendaya's since she must generate empathy for a character who feels doomed to not be loved since the very beginning, but she plays Emma like a mystery that needs to be solved and a woman in search for some sort of redemption while her world falls apart - and you start to understand her perspective as you feel closer to her. Pattinson's Charlie is way more lovable but you watch him fall from grace at some point, as he questions everything and every moment of his relationship with his fiancée - he's particularly sweet and emotional, while Emma is more cerebral and introverted. In the end, I didn't feel they were playing characters that are that different from themselves, but both really have movie star quality and they are simply magnetic to watch. It's a rare thing to have two leads this powerful working together with such acting material.
The supporting cast is also quite interesting, with Alana Haim playing a true "Karen" here and she's deliciously b*tchy, specially in the third act where she sticks a "knife" and watches Emma bleed (and I would love to discuss her on X). Also a lot of praise for Zoe Winter's hilarious cameo as the photographer and Hailey Gates that really manages to steal the spotlight during her scenes.
In terms of editing and cinematography, The Drama is quite fine, adding a dynamic rythm that's rare in this kind of dramedies, making it a quite watchable and never boring cinematic experience. In fact, it is a movie that only gets better as the narrative develops and it really catches fire in the third (and final) act where the many points of its narrative web not only intersect but actually collide.
In the end, The Drama is not that romantic, but it's actually quite funny while exploring some profound concepts: intention and actual action; overcoming obstacles in a relationship; honestly; good will; accountability; and what's wrong with America. It handles a very sensitive topic, but it never gets political: it focus on its impact on Emma and Charlie's relationship, BUT its global impact haunts the movie's atmosphere... a ghostly presence, a characters that it's never materialized on screen.
The Drama is worth seeing and I can't write much more because I'm afraid of giving away spoilers, but go see it for Zendaya and for Pattinson but stay because of the final act. I must say I loved the ending!
RATING: 7/10
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