The Drama Review: The Provocations of Kristoffer Borgli Conceal a Deeper Ignorance

      Some critics will argue that The Drama is not focused on race, or if it is, it's merely a coincidence due to colorblind casting. There is an important reveal—central to the film's premise—early on that might resonate more with audiences if it had originated from a white character. Historically, this aspect is more linked to troubled white American men. However, this is a movie, not real life, and The Drama introduces a character that viewers have not encountered on the big screen before.

      The fourth film by Norwegian director Kristoffer Borgli features Robert Pattinson and Zendaya as a young couple getting ready for their wedding. During a food-and-wine-tasting night to finalize their reception menu, Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Pattinson) engage in a game with their best man, Mike (Mamoudou Athie), and maid of honor Rachel (Alana Haim). They gather around a table, get intoxicated, and confess the worst things they’ve ever done. They go from Mike to Rachel to Charlie until it’s Emma’s turn to disclose her secret. What she reveals is the significant twist of The Drama, heavily hinted at in trailers. One might think the film revolves around this reveal, exploring what it means for Emma to have committed such an act.

      However, it serves a different narrative purpose: it uncovers the inherent politics within this friend group and the shaky foundation of Charlie and Emma’s relationship. The Drama starts with Charlie drafting his rehearsal dinner speech about falling in love with Emma. As he reflects on their initial meeting and his efforts to impress her, Emma appears in his memories as an ideal partner—tall, beautiful, humorous, and compassionate. In his speech, he admires her empathy. But after Emma’s reveal, he removes that line and continues to delete sections until the entire speech is erased. This single piece of information causes him to question her entire character. So, were all those moments of empathy he observed a façade? Is she secretly malicious? This question propels Charlie to undermine his relationship with Emma, leading to a disastrous rehearsal dinner that culminates in violence and humiliation for both.

      Zendaya offers one of her finest performances, expressing the film’s racial dynamics by portraying a typical, loving partner marginalized by the narrative surrounding her. From the outset, it’s evident that Emma is not a villain and harbors no violent tendencies—at least not anymore. The film includes numerous flashbacks of Emma as an awkward teen (played by Jordyn Curet), sporting glasses, frizzy hair, and lacking social skills. We discover that Emma was a military child who moved frequently and had difficulty making friends in Louisiana. She has a rarely seen white mother and a Black military father (Damon Gupton), who later delivers the only commendable speech at the chaotic rehearsal dinner. Although The Drama does not tackle Emma’s biracial identity or the fact that she is entering an interracial marriage, her reveal highlights Charlie’s anxieties about marrying a Black woman.

      Borgli portrays Charlie and Rachel as seemingly progressive, affluent white individuals who become unsettled by the thought that the Black woman they claim to love could have a violent past. In one telling scene, Rachel attempts to distinguish her Black husband, who is calmer than Emma, by asserting that he is not only incapable of violence but also, due to his upbringing, fearful of it. Mike quickly counters this notion, yet this scene serves as its own significant reveal: part of Mike’s charm to Rachel is that he is a Black man who appears harmless. Charlie previously viewed Emma as innocent, but now he fears her and cannot shake the impression that the woman he loves embodies the stereotype of the Mad Black Woman. Despite all evidence to the contrary, this fear drives the narrative forward. It is not Emma but racism that emerges as the true antagonist of The Drama. Pattinson portrays Charlie as a stereotypical timid white man whose cowardice overshadows his charisma. By the film's conclusion, one hopes Emma distances herself from him as much as possible.

      The Drama will be released in theaters on Friday, April 3.