The Drama (15)

Partially deaf literary editor Emma Harwood meets her socially awkward husband-to-be, British museum curator Charlie Thompson, in a coffee shop. An awkward first exchange leads to romance and eventually a marriage proposal. In the week before the nuptials, Charlie and Emma drunkenly agree to tell each other the worst thing they have ever done as a demonstration of their unwavering trust in each other. Big mistake.

LondonNet Film Review

The Drama (15) Film Review from LondonNet

Honesty is the best policy until you’re the one on the receiving end of a disarming disclosure. The cold, unvarnished truth hurts in The Drama and Norwegian writer-director Kristoffer Borgli’s twisted romantic comedy revels in the toe-curling discomfort and agonising silences that follow one candid confession in the stressful days leading up to a wedding…

Partially deaf literary editor Emma Harwood (Zendaya) meets her socially awkward husband-to-be, British museum curator Charlie Thompson (Robert Pattinson), in a coffee shop. He pretends to have read the book in her hands, The Damage by Harper Ellison, and clumsily engineers a conversation that leads to dinner, an after-hours kiss at his workplace and, eventually, a marriage proposal. Charlie’s good friend Mike (Mamoudou Athie) agrees to be best man and Mike’s waspish wife Rachel (Alana Haim) is surprised to be chosen as maid of honour. In the week leading up to the nuptials, the two couples meet to agree the menu for the wedding reception.

Wine flows freely and Mike and Rachel cheerfully confide that before their big day, they told each other the worst thing they had ever done as a demonstration of their unwavering trust in each other. With lips and inhibitions lubricated by the alcohol, Charlie and Emma openly share their most shameful moments. Emma’s confession kills the joyous vibe and unsettles Charlie, who secretly questions if he truly knows the person who will be standing opposite him at the altar. As the ceremony approaches, nerves jangle and wedding photographer (Zoe Winters) and museum assistant Misha (Hailey Benton Gates) are unwittingly caught in the crossfire.

For the opening half hour, The Drama feels much more grounded than writer-director Borgli’s previous film, the unhinged comedy horror Dream Scenario, starring Nicolas Cage as a university professor who unwittingly infiltrates the nighttime imaginings of countless strangers. Once Emma reveals what flitted through the mind of her alienated teenage self, the mood of this picture changes abruptly and we repeatedly squirm in our seats as the soon-to-be-weds try in vain to repair damage to their relationship.

Borgli’s script rubs huge handfuls of salt into wounds and Zendaya and Pattinson deliver compelling performances as the characters’ worlds unravel at sickening speed, building to a cringe-inducing crescendo on the wedding day when toasts and speeches throw social niceties onto a bonfire and slosh on the paraffin. The filmmaker incinerates realism during an overblown and ponderous finale, which sparks feverish debate about forgiveness and understanding. There is plenty of drama, as promised by the title, but whether it’s truly satisfying is another matter. I struggled to swallow what Borgli served for his final course. Raw ingredients are mouthwatering but his dish feels overcooked.

– Jo Planter