Kristoffer Borgli's The Drama sits somewhere between much of Lars von Trier's output and Sean Price Williams's The Sweet East on the artful edgelord spectrum; albeit closer to the latter's live action South Park than the sometimes incisive work of the former.
The Drama is a fantastically constructed film that, for the most part, threads a delicate needle of unnerving and broadly funny; largely sidestepping cringe comedy to create something more unique, and certainly more affecting.
While the opening scenes almost lull viewers into a state of knowing comfort with the trappings of a romantic comedy (Nancy Meyers interiors and cultural, high-paying jobs included), surprisingly sharp editing, Daniel Pemberton's prickly woodwind score, and some bold sound design choices hint at something darker looming. During a final pre-wedding tasting, the engaged Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Robert Pattinson) play a game of "what's the worst thing you've ever done?" with their best friends, and fellow couple, Mike (Mamoudou Athie) and Rachel (Alana Haim), with disastrous results. I won't spoil the revelation, suffice to say that marketing this film as a traditional rom-com is certain to anger some moviegoers seeking a fun comedy with charming movie stars.
The disclosure inspires several dialogue-free dream sequences made up of striking tableaus that use blood as their greatest contrast point. There's a patience Borgli displays in these dreams that's built upon in other moments. One sees a character silently imagining the various ways the post-revelation conversation may begin (with hugs, with laughter, with anger) after the initial, well, drama. Sometimes we remain with an image of the past a bit longer than necessary, other times the past and present quietly collide. It's a patience that forces the audience to sit in the reality of the situation rather than escape into the movie's often downright silly jokes.
Though the jokes don't quite offer an escape either, or at least the movie won't let them. During a meeting with their photographer, she keeps unknowingly reminding the couple of the crisis they're attempting to navigate in an on the nose but undeniably funny scene. Yet rather than allow the humor to break or ease the tension, flashbulbs offscreen regularly intrude with their light and an accompanying "woompsh" that makes it impossible to relax.
All five of the main actors in the film, the already mentioned quartet and Hailey Benton Gates as Charlie's coworker Misha, are phenomenal and perfectly dialed into the specific tone. Both Zendaya and Pattinson put on bravura displays of eye acting, flitting between hope, doubt, and sometimes outright horror within seconds. Their performances early in the film welcome the audience in with their well-honed movie star charisma and an easy chemistry that makes their young couple deeply in love who want to overcome a crisis all the more believable later.
Athie, Gates, and Haim are all given moments to shine throughout, but Haim may steal the show most. The turn she takes from loving friend to classic bitchy, well-off white woman is delicious and Haim makes glances, glares, and shifts in her body hilarious. There's also an incredible one-scene-wonder performance from Jeremy Levick as last minute replacement DJ Ivan who's way too chatty and cannot at all read a room.
A few moments, including the climax, do land too cleanly in the cringe comedy space, but for the most part, The Drama maintains a much more visceral unease than most comedies can allow without entirely giving up on being a comedy, though any genre marker seems inadequate. Except maybe "romance," because whatever else you want to call it, it might just make you believe in love again.
The film opens wide across North America, only in movie theaters, on Friday, April 3, via A24 Films.