SPOILER WARNING: The year of Zendaya is off to a weird start.
“The Drama,” the latest A24 movie starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, while being successful at the box office and in the eyes of critics, did not work for me.
The plot follows a young couple in Boston on the eve of their wedding. While the couple is getting the details in order, the groom learns some rather unsettling information about his bride-to-be. His fiance, Emma, played by Zendaya, planned and intended to carry out a school shooting. The rest of the film is Pattinson’s character, Charlie, mentally and emotionally struggling to decide if he’s okay with who he is marrying.
While the concept is creative and intriguing, the movie fails to execute on its interesting ideas. In my mind, most people who will not like this movie are going to be people who entered the theater thinking the movie was going to be something that it’s not due to marketing. I have no problem with the twists and chances this movie takes, it just doesn’t give any of them the depth and respect they deserve.
This movie had a chance to be a really interesting commentary about the culture surrounding mass shootings in America, but it wasn’t. It could have been a fascinating exploration of how far a person would go and change for someone they love, but it wasn’t. Instead, it was a quirky and slightly funny film that pivoted far too many times without going too far in any direction while adding even less interesting ideas into the mix. It does, however, hold the accomplishment of being the single weirdest rom-com I have ever seen.
One thing that even a detractor like me can take away from this film, are the high-level performances given from top to bottom from the cast. Zendaya and Pattinson were spectacular in their respective roles. Pattinson is doing his new usual awkward but charming humor, channeling aspects from previous performances like Mickey in “Mickey 17.” Zendaya delivers on being likeable but also opaque: putting the audience in the shoes of Charlie, where you’re trying to figure out if this person is actually a psychopath or just had a really low point.
However, I thought the real star performances were those of the two main supporting actors, Alania Haim and Mamoudou Athie. They play the best man and maid of honor at the wedding, and are the characters who give us conflict in the plot. The way they are both able to capture that certain type of metropolitan, highly educated, pretentious, white-collar worker was impeccable. Haim in particular felt so vivid and real. I instantly thought of a lovable but narcissistic person I know. Zendaya’s performance might have been more difficult to pull off, but Haim’s was my favorite.
For me, “The Drama” experience has my feelings all over the place. While I did not love the movie, I love the fact that actors are willing to take chances and not just star in big I.P. remakes and sequels. Additionally, it’s spectacular that a film like this made the profit on a 28 million dollar budget. I thought it was especially cool that Zendaya was willing to do this film considering she usually stars in the previously mentioned big I.P. blockbusters — of which she has three coming this year with “Dune Part Three,” “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “Euphoria” season three. Her choice to be involved in this movie with a packed schedule shows her work ethic, versatility as an actress and care for the industry as a whole.
I just hope that her next few projects are better than this one.
