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By Mackenzie Powell
“The Drama” (2026), directed by Kristoffer Borgli and starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, deftly portrays the intricacies of human connection and balances a darkly comic tone.
Zendaya and Pattinson seamlessly disappear into their roles as engaged couple Emma and Charlie, despite their major movie star statuses.
The film follows the lead up to the fiancés’ wedding after a revelation takes them through an unforeseen series of events. Alana Haim and Hailey Benton Gates shine in supporting parts and Zoë Winters and Jeremy Levick steal the show in their hilarious cameos.
The cinematography is beautiful, polished, grounded and utilizes warm colors alongside the turmoil of the plot. The camera always centers on the characters, drawing attention to facial expressions that gesture to what they may be sharing or hiding from other characters and the audience.
Excellent editing draws viewers into the unfolding story as characters’ psyches are revealed through disturbing daydreams and visions of their pasts.
“The Drama” communicates the importance of relationships alongside the complications that arise as they beckon for more vulnerability. What can happen if you are honest about yourself? A fear of rejection is shown, and at times, ugly or concerning foundations of characters’ personalities are revealed in the spotlight of openness. Are they rooted in obsessive twitchiness, disregard for others, or pain?
The film exhibits dangers that can follow if one acts impulsively in the face of flaws (yours or others’), and how people’s problems can say more about you, given how you react to them.
Conflicted minds, afraid of judgment, are afflicted with a poison of neuroticism and fall into a spiral of fixation. It shows that you must acknowledge your thoughts, but the important things that shape your life are the actions that follow them.
The characters are compellingly written and acted to successfully draw empathy or provoke. In some cases, parts of their personalities and experiences hold mirrors to the audience and make for an engaging interface—it is an at times uncomfortable but consistently arresting affair. “The Drama” is bracing and sickening to watch, but the effective humor keeps the movie fun all the way through.
Brisk pacing works alongside the interesting tone. Viewers frequently laughed during the well-deployed comedic moments while also gasping and cringing at certain character actions. This made for an immersive experience when it came to the plot and basic interaction with the script.
Throughout, one can think of what “The Drama” is trying to communicate with specific scenes. But when considered as a whole, some might exit the film and feel unsatisfied with its lack of a deep and developed overarching statement on society. With its thorny subject matter, one might expect it to take some kind of dramatic (pardon the pun) stand. The film, however, stays within its frame of interpersonal reactions to revelations and successfully communicates meaning through these.
Overall, “The Drama” presents an interesting portrayal of human relationships injected with the mess of intimacy, and the compelling cinematography and editing exhibit skilled performances and balanced tones.
