The Drama distributed by A24 makes Dream Scenario feel like a day at the beach. Writer-director Kristoffer Borgli has fashioned a relationship drama unlike any other, that puts two gifted character actors front and centre, then lets them loose. Robert Pattinson may have found fame through the Twilight saga but has scorched earth since then creating an enviable back catalogue of memorable performances. Zendaya has also gone out of her way to make challenging projects, that fly in the face of her tentpole appeal.
Both Spiderman and Dune are a million miles away from the intentions of this tiny two-hander, that is dialogue driven, dives headlong into emotional waters, then asks the what if question every partner dreads. Emma and Charlie are in love, and The Drama charts their decline into uncertainty days before the wedding. Fuelled by the natural chemistry between both actors in those early scenes, audiences will be blindsided by that all-important twist is revealed.
What follows is the amplification of every natural reaction an audience might have to that revelation. Things remain on the edge of implosion for the next hour as friends are repulsed and allegiances tested. The strength of their love is stretched to breaking point and Borgli makes sure to pepper his big reveal with imagery designed to unsettle. However, that effort would come to nothing if his central pairing were unwilling to go somewhere deeper and darker. Thankfully, Zendaya and Robert Pattinson never disappoint.
Image Courtesy of A24
Pattinson has built a career on characters capable of crossing moral boundaries. At first glance, Charlie feels so buttoned down as a museum curator that audiences might initially have their concerns about the casting. Thankfully, Pattinson’s ability to embrace the unhinged emotions required post-bombshell gives The Drama substance. So much so, that Charlie’s low-key breakdown fuels a second act that packs a lot into limited time but rarely feels contrived.
Confusion, conflict, and a highly tuned fight or flight instinct are all given free rein as Pattison plumbs the depth of his creation and gives Charlie genuine depth. In the opposite corner Zendaya goes toe-to-toe with her husband to be, explaining, defending, and trying to rationale his reaction by downplaying her own instincts. The plausibility of her reveal might undermine this film upon reflection, but up on-screen The Drama is captivating stuff. Enthralling for all the right reasons, even it is custom made to provoke people.
Beyond the columns inches of debate this film will create The Drama still asks an age old question. In any relationship how much do we really know the other person? Where audiences sit on that quandary might be subjective, but guarantees to keep people coming back, because more than anything The Drama shows no fear. Not only through the unflinching performances from a committed ensemble cast, but elsewhere, in the silences that are sure to follow those closing credits.
The Drama in out in selected cinemas now.