Movie Review: The Drama

If you discovered the deepest, darkest secret from your spouse's distant past, would you still be able to look them at the same way? That's the thesis statement driving The Drama, the new pitch-black comedy from writer/director Kristofer Borgli (Dream Scenario, Sick of Myself). The inciting incident here takes place at a tasting to finalize the appetizer/wine menu in the days leading up to a wedding ceremony when the maid of honor (Alana Haim) convinces the about-to-be-wed couple (Robert Pattinson, Zendaya) to engage in an exercise that her and her husband (Mamadou Athie)-who is serving as the best man-did right before their own wedding where they shared the worst thing they've ever done. After the first three members of these couples laugh their way through their answers, Zendaya's character makes a confession that makes everyone else so deeply uncomfortable that it turns a fun dinner conversation into a heated confrontation that causes all involved parties to leave feeling enraged and betrayed. This horrendous icebreaker question sets into motion a series of events that will forever change the lives of the previously happy couple and several people in their orbit.

Shrouding The Drama in secrecy was a really brilliant move from A24's marketing team. The confession itself is really just the tip of the iceberg as the ramifications that stem from it are every bit, if not more surprising. While the movie is certainly strong enough to have survived being burdened by a more transparent marketing campaign, embracing ambiguity as much as possible beforehand maximizes the effectiveness of the massive shitstorm The Drama unleashes on the audience. 

As far as tonal juggling acts go, Borgli picked a mighty tricky one to try and pul off. There are layers upon layers of discomfort rearing their ugly head as the tackling of a very taboo subject turns into a reflection on the role of communication in relationships, the fallout that comes from sharing an ugly truth that leaves you vulnerable to immense blowback from the people that are confronted by it and how people use the misdeeds of others to deflect from their own bad behavior. Remarkably, Borgli manages to absolutely ace this exceptionally difficult test. The cocktail of absurd comedy, psychological drama and radical empathy he puts together here proves to be the precise right formula to maximize the effectiveness of the insane situations these characters find themselves in while not losing sight of their humanity as they go through this massive unforeseen challenge to their relationship against the already deeply stressful backdrop of a wedding. 

Of course, Borgli's brilliant writing and direction is further heightened by his powerhouse cast. Whether it's the riveting, emotionally dense turns from the four leads or the hilarious scene-stealing bit parts from the likes of Zoe Winters as the performatively enthusiastic wedding photographer or Jeremy Levick as a wedding DJ who is happy to tell anybody who will listen about the specifics of his setup, every character gives the film just what it needs at that moment in time and is able to remain grounded in the face of a parade of heightened squirm-inducing situations that no person would ever want to find themselves trapped in the middle of. When the dust settles on 2026, I'm confident this will remain one of the best ensembles of the year and everybody who signed off on this group of actors playing these roles deserves a ton of credit for helping make this movie so special.

The Drama is a film that demands the viewer to look inward and really question their moral fiber There's a real chance that relationships will strengthen or deteriorate based on how the conversations the film will inspire play out. Best of luck to anyone out there that's brave enough to watch this with their spouse and hopefully you can do a better job of living with whatever truths are unearthed than the characters in the film do. 

Grade: A