'The Drama' review: Robert Pattinson and Zendaya face the limits of forgiveness in a pressure-cooker romantic dramady

Courtesy of A24

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At the center of writer-director Kristoffer Borgli’s entertaining but deeply stressful “romantic comedy” is a revelation so incendiary it feels almost mischievously hidden from the masses. It is the kind of twist that lands with an uneasy laugh, the sort you give out of sheer disbelief. This cannot possibly be happening, right? And yet, that queasy uncertainty is precisely the point.

That revelation fuels “The Drama,” which stars Robert Pattinson and Zendaya as Charlie and Emma, a couple knee-deep in the final, orderly rituals of wedding planning. The caterer is locked in, the DJ and photographer are booked, and friends and family are traveling from all over, including Charlie’s London-based parents. Everything appears to be neatly aligned for a happily-ever-after, until one conversation detonates the foundation beneath it.

Borgli has never been shy about pushing buttons. His previous A24 satire “Dream Scenario” explored similar territory around validation, conformity, and the moral weight we assign to people based on experiences they may not have actively committed. “The Drama” feels like a thematic cousin, even sharper in its intentions, asking whether we are capable of separating a person from the worst thing they have ever admitted out loud.

The film unfolds during an intimate dinner with close friends Mike (Mamoudou Athie) and Rachel (Alana Haim), a seemingly innocuous pre-wedding gathering meant to hash out menu options and wine selections. As anyone who has lingered too long over a bottle of red knows, once the glasses keep refilling, candor inevitably follows. The group decides to take turns confessing their deepest skeletons, a parlor game masquerading as honesty. Confessions range from the uncomfortable to the outright disturbing, including Rachel recounting a childhood incident involving a locked closet and a missing child that spiraled into a full-blown search party.

But when it is Emma’s turn, the air in the room shifts. Her admission is staggering, instantly controversial, and rooted in an issue so painfully current it practically hums with tension. Borgli is less interested in the specifics of what Emma reveals than in the aftershocks of that revelation. The reactions are swift and unforgiving. Rachel recoils in moral horror, barely able to meet Emma’s gaze. Charlie, blindsided, begins to unravel under the weight of realizing his future wife carried something this profound without ever telling him. The moment sends both Charlie and the audience into a tightening spiral of doubt, fear, and self-interrogation.

Pattinson and Zendaya prove to be an excellent pairing, navigating the escalating unease with a fragile chemistry that feels both lived-in and volatile. Zendaya, in particular, carries much of the film’s emotional burden, forcing the audience into an uncomfortable reckoning. Would we judge the person we love by the worst thing they have ever done or thought? Are thoughts equivalent to crimes? Is forgiveness possible when the act, even if hypothetical, feels unforgivable?

These questions haunt Charlie as he embarks on a frantic, inward collapse. Pattinson channels a jittery, anxiety-riddled performance that recalls the relentless nervous energy of Adam Sandler in “Uncut Gems.” His emotional whiplash propels the film into a third act that is deliberately exhausting, designed to leave viewers squirming in their seats.

And yet, this is where “The Drama” begins to wobble. The entire film rests on a single confession, and while Borgli’s ambition is admirable, the execution does not always live up to the provocation. The movie sometimes strains under how clever it wants to be, mistaking discomfort for depth and satire for resolution. It wants to say something incisive about morality, judgment, and compassion, but it occasionally stops short of pushing those ideas to their most illuminating conclusion.

The marketing’s discretion in keeping the film’s central reveal under wraps is commendable, though it arguably warrants a content warning. Still, “The Drama” does earnestly grapple with a difficult idea: that we tend to define people by their worst moment, even when that moment exists only in thought, confession, or youthful mental fragility. Borgli suggests that compassion, not condemnation, is the more radical act.

The lingering question the film leaves behind is not whether everyone deserves grace, but whether we are emotionally equipped to offer it. “The Drama” argues that forgiveness is possible, even necessary, but only if we are willing to sit with the discomfort of how messy and human that process actually is.

Grade: B

THE DRAMA is now playing in theaters.