Zendaya and Robert Pattinson Make a Fine ‘Drama’ Out of a Wedding Crisis

This review of the provocative new movie “The Drama” will not contain any spoilers or disclose what ignites the doubt, trepidation, and moral quandary of an affianced couple in the days leading up to their wedding. We will talk around the narrative’s disturbing lynchpin, which will surely be much discussed in the weeks to come, instead highlighting its fantastic stars, Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, and how filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli has crafted a crackling, dark romantic comedy and wedding farce, festooned with philosophical questions about love and one’s ability to change.Written and directed by Mr. Borgli, whose previous comedy was the similarly high-concept “Dream Scenario” with Nicolas Cage, the film begins with a typical “meet-cute” in which Mr. Pattinson’s Charlie approaches Zendaya’s Emma in a Boston coffee shop and lies about reading a book she’s currently reading. His initial approach is a failure, though, because Emma is deaf in one ear and could not hear him. After some awkwardness but definite sparks between them, the two agree to redo the entire encounter again. This scene signals that surprises and genre subversions will be in store.These memories of how they met and fell in love are recounted by Charlie, a museum curator, as he’s working on his wedding speech with his best friend Mike (Mamoudou Athie). Emma, too, is working on her speech and discusses her relationship with Charlie with her friend Rachel (Alana Haim) and book publishing boss Pauline (Sydney Lemmon). She tells them how he is her first love and her first crush despite being in her late twenties, hinting at an isolated adolescence and delayed acquaintance with matters of the heart. Emma’s acknowledgement of Charlie’s double status in her life, and how he once inspired her to have a panic attack, come across as initially comic and inconsequential. That is, until one night when she and Charlie are sampling wedding food with Rachel and Mike, who are married. Conversation makes its way to the subject of “What’s the Worst Thing You’ve Ever Done?” Both Mike and Rachel admit to instances of bad and irrational behavior, while Charlie can barely muster one. Of course it is Emma’s admission that is the shocker—a candid confession of a low point in her life that personally offends Rachel and sends Charlie into a spiral of questions, unease, and maximum pre-wedding jitters.Back at their chic apartment, Emma gives her fiancé more context to her revelation, leading to flashbacks with Jordyn Curet as the young Emma. (Apparently, she had not told him much of her childhood and he had not asked.) Depression and isolation played a factor in her terrible secret, and, based on Zendaya/Ms. Curet’s race and what we see of her teenage years, one infers prejudice as well, though this is only obliquely suggested. While sidestepping some issues, this incisive film keeps asking ever-pertinent questions, such as “Can one be forgiven for past transgressions?” and “Are some things better left unsaid or communicated at a later point?” Mr. Borgli declares we’re all capable of unconscionable thoughts and horrible acts, and the plot bears this out during a later scene with Charlie’s coworker, and Rachel’s callous behavior at the wedding, though these instances are never on par with Emma’s disclosure. The director even seems to interrogate liberal elites’ commitment to empathy, particularly as Charlie and friends live well-off, privileged lives filled with art, literature, and wine—and nary a hardship.With a performance that solidifies her status as the actress of the moment, Zendaya both charms in lighter scenes and captivates in tenser ones. Her comic timing, expressive reactions, and ability to convey hidden pain and mystery serve the character and the story especially well. As good as she is, though, the movie’s showcase performance belongs to Robert Pattinson. In another role that sees him leverage his elastic facial features and playful physicality, the actor proves how he isn’t afraid to look ridiculous or embody sensitive masculinity, turning into a cross between Jim Carrey and James Dean.Even after Emma’s secret is revealed and matters turn dark, Mr. Borgli keeps the pace punchy and the tone entertaining with jokey situations, outrageous outbursts, and exquisitely uncomfortable dream sequences, such as when we’re shown Charlie with his arm around the young Emma. As the wedding preparations proceed despite friction between the couple, one particularly fantastic scene depicts Charlie and Emma taking some test shots with the photographer, with Mr. Pattinson humorously unable to form a natural smile. As “The Drama” climaxes with the wedding reception, circumstances become strained, though Mr. Borgli does have Charlie give a memorably jaw-dropping speech, made up of everything he took out of his original draft. It’s a wonderful example of radical honesty and radical acceptance, of how true love is a force dependent on great understanding and forgiveness, and the perfect lead-in to the film’s coda, destined to leave many viewers misty-eyed with that corollary of love: hope.

Zendaya and Robert Pattinson Make a Fine ‘Drama’ Out of a Wedding Crisis

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