The Drama
The woman with caramel skin and curly chocolate hair sits by the window, intensely concentrated on the book in front of her. Charlie watches as she takes a sip of her drink, her eyes never breaking away from the page. She’s absolutely stunning. He picks at the edge of his phone case, trying to come up with some way to approach her as he sits across the room. He perks up with an idea, stands and passes behind her to see the title of the book she’s hooked on and goes back to sit down. Now with the title in mind, he googles a quick overview of the plot. Taking a deep breath, Charlie stands and slowly walks over to the woman oblivious to his presence.
“Hello,” Charlie starts. No reaction, not even a turn of her head. “I–I don’t mean to interrupt you, I just wanted to say I really like the book you’re reading. I just finished it the other day and I think it’s great.” Charlie rambles, the words tumbling out in a jittery mess. The woman still doesn’t stir, just stays leaning over her book and ignoring Charlie completely. “Sorry I didn’t mean to bother you. I don’t normally do this. I just thought you were so beautiful and I couldn’t help saying hello.” Still nothing, her eyes glued to the words in front of her. “But clearly you want to be left alone. Sorry, I’ll leave you-” As Charlie is mid sentence about to walk away the woman finally turns her head, seeming startled. She pulls out an earphone in the opposite ear that had been hidden from sight.
“Sorry! I’m deaf on this side,” she points to the ear that was facing Charlie. “Were you trying to talk to me?” She stares at Charlie, her brown eyes curious and bright.
“I..I just– you’re beautiful and that book... it’s great,” Charlie stammers. The woman smiles and laughs slightly.
“Would you like to start over?”
If someone close to you were to spill their darkest secret to you, would you be willing to accept it as a part of them? Kristoffer Borgli’s The Drama experiments with this concept when Emma (Zendaya), Charlie’s (Robert Pattinson) fiance, drops a bomb of a confession days before their wedding at a food tasting with their close friends. Startled by the morbidity of her hidden past, Charlie is left questioning the love he has for the sweet, kind and caring Emma that he thought he knew. Will he be able to go through with the wedding? Will he truly accept all of her, till death do them part? Emma spirals into an anxiety ridden and quiet version of herself thinking everyone close to her believes the worst of her. This meet-cute romantic comedy turned melodramatic thriller delivers a questionable concept, trying to humanize a disturbing and heavy topic.
The Drama aligns well with Kristoffer Borgli’s directorial history of Dream Scenario and Sick of Myself in mixing dry comedy with disturbing ideas. He plays with the audience by exposing the character’s headspace and acting out the dreadful scenarios that Emma and Charlie are dreaming up in their heads. Stitching the film together by abruptly cutting to scenes of the past or of their imagination creates a high contrast in emotion. This sets a disruptive and anxious tone for the story, really letting the audience sit with Emma and Charlie’s struggling feelings as the wedding date nears and the pressure and chaos flourish. The audience is kept confused and guessing as to who these characters really are and where their story is going to end up.
Emma, played by the talented Zendya, is a complex character that is messy in her vagueness. While keeping everyone wrapped up in her kind and innocent demeanor, her shocking secret causes a rippling effect that she can’t stop once it’s out of the bag. The lack of resolve of her past and desperation to go through with this wedding create a confusing conflict within the viewer. We take a journey much like Charlie, played by Robert Pattinson, in coming to terms with the weight of what Emma has admitted, and what it would mean to truly accept and love her for the rest of his life. He is backed into a corner in a battle of what is morally acceptable, stumbling through black, white and grey lines of right and wrong. Is he marrying a sociopath? Or a woman who has overcome a dangerous and messed up past and is now changed for the better?
As ungraciously as it is presented, The Drama delves into whether people can be believed that they’ve truly changed and if love really does conquer all. Borgli challenges the complexities of being human, how perfectly normal people can be capable of unimaginable things. Should they be held to judgement of their past for the rest of their lives? Where is the line between understandable and unforgivable? This film is for those who wish to question where their morals lie and if placed in the same situation, what would you do?