Norwegian director Kristoffer Borgli’s controversial rom-com thriller The Drama starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson
Consensus Summary
The Drama is a Norwegian-American rom-com thriller directed by Kristoffer Borgli that stars Zendaya and Robert Pattinson as a seemingly perfect couple whose engagement collapses after Emma reveals a shocking secret about her past. The film centers on Emma’s confession that as a 14-year-old, she plotted to carry out a school shooting but abandoned the plan after a real mass shooting disrupted her plans. Both articles agree the film blends dark humor with psychological tension, critiquing American culture’s obsession with personal branding and the fragility of relationships under scrutiny. While ABC frames the story as a layered, emotionally intense exploration of paranoia and social capital, The Guardian describes it as a satirical mashup of rom-com tropes and high-school shooting themes, drawing comparisons to films like Force Majeure. The consensus includes the film’s release date, its controversial premise, and the reveal about Emma’s deafness tied to gun handling, though interpretations of the tone and ending differ between sources.
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Key details reported by multiple sources:
- The film is directed by Kristoffer Borgli and stars Zendaya as Emma and Robert Pattinson as Charlie
- The story centers on a couple engaged to be married whose relationship unravels after Emma reveals a dark secret about her past
- Emma’s secret involves a high-school shooting plot she attempted as a 14-year-old, later abandoned due to a real shooting incident
- The film is distributed by A24 and released in cinemas on April 2
- The film’s title and premise involve a taboo topic in US culture, sparking cultural debate
- The film’s opening scene features a meet-cute in a Boston café where Charlie mistakes Emma’s deafness for disinterest
- Emma’s partial deafness is later revealed to be caused by handling an assault rifle too close to her ear during practice
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- The film is described as a rollercoaster emotional thriller reminiscent of 80s-90s Hollywood dramatic adult thrillers
- Borgli’s previous films include the Norwegian cult hit Sick of Myself (2023) and the English-language debut Dream Scenario (2023)
- The film’s score is credited to Daniel Pemberton, described as uneasy and 70s psycho-drama style
- The film’s ending is described as unusually cheesy and empathetic for Borgli, though its sincerity is debated
- The film critiques millennial romance, the wedding industrial complex, and personal branding obsessions
- The film’s tone shifts from satire of American bourgeois aspiration to a more complex exploration of social capital and empathy
- The film’s hallucinatory editing and score capture Charlie’s unraveling mental state
- The film’s poster features an Ingmar Bergman reference, hinting at its psychological intensity
- The film is described as a Euro-satire of American bourgeois aspiration, drawing comparisons to Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure and Thomas Vinterberg’s Festen
- Emma’s secret is revealed during a drunken game of ‘worst things you’ve ever done’ with their married best friends Rachel and Mike
- Emma’s partial deafness is caused by holding her father’s assault rifle too close to her ear while practicing shooting
- Emma’s attempted shooting plot was thwarted by a real mass shooting at a local mall that killed a friend of theirs
- The film’s tone is described as a mashup of Hollywood marriage comedy and high-school shooting themes
- The film’s ending is criticized for losing its nerve, providing a reassuring but abrupt resolution
- The film’s script preempts objections about the rarity of female shooters by providing examples
- The film’s style is described as spiky, ingenious, and tasteless, similar to Dream Scenario but superior to Sick of Myself
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- ABC describes the film’s tone as gradually revealing a more complex hand, while The Guardian calls it a contrived but amusing high-concept satire
- ABC mentions the film’s ending is ‘unusually cheesy and empathetic’ for Borgli, but The Guardian says the ending ‘loses its nerve’ and feels abrupt
- ABC highlights the film’s critique of millennial romance and personal branding, while The Guardian focuses more on the film’s generic ambiguity between satire and thriller
- ABC describes the film’s hallucinatory editing and score as capturing Charlie’s unraveling mental state, while The Guardian emphasizes the eerie sound design and dissonant woodwind figures
- ABC notes that Borgli’s grasp of American culture—especially race—has its limits, but The Guardian does not mention this critique
Source Articles
The Drama review – Zendaya and Robert Pattinson’s controversial wedding film delivers on its promise
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This controversial rom-com starring Zendaya is one of the best movies of the year
On the surface, A-listers Zendaya and Robert Pattinson's new film seems like a regular rom-com. That's exactly what director Kristoffer Borgli wants you to think....