A24’s newest film, The Drama, is slowly becoming one of the studio’s highest-grossing movies ever. Photo: A24.
While relatively small compared to the juggernauts at Disney, Warner Bros or Paramount, independent studio A24 continues to deliver some of the best new films released each year.
Films like Marty Supreme and Everything Everywhere All At Once have been proven critical and box office hits for the studio in recent years and now A24 is beginning to attract the signatures of some of the world’s biggest A-List actors and filmmakers.
Its newest film, The Drama, stars Zendaya, arguably the hottest commodity in Hollywood right now, as well as Robert Pattinson, who hasn’t been in a bad movie for the better part of a decade.
The pair plays Emma and Charlie, a happy couple only days away from their wedding.
The duo is in the midst of preparing every fine detail needed to make the day perfect. Among the chaos, Emma and Charlie are able to find a little bit of time to enjoy a glass of wine with their maid of honour, Rachel and best man, Mike.
Despite all the external noise, it’s actually this dinner where things turn sideways. The group of four plays a game where each reveals the worst thing they’ve ever done.
The secrets include bullying a classmate, standing up a date and other things of that nature, but it’s Emma’s deep, dark secret that turns the film’s light-hearted first act on its head.
Absolutely bewildered by his soon-to-be wife’s revelation, Charlie is immediately conflicted and left questioning whether he should proceed with the wedding that is only a few days away.
The Drama is a pretty heavy movie.
It’s not a thriller. You’re not spending the movie trying to work out what Emma did; it’s all front and centre.
Instead, it focuses on the question, do you really know your partner and what would you do if you were stuck in a position where you didn’t.
For three-quarters of the movie, the audience is in the uncomfortable position of trying to answer this question. This contributes to the film’s best and worst traits.
On one hand, it’s a fascinating deep dive into Charlie’s character as he debates what to do next, asking himself questions like, if his fiancée did this as a child, can she do it now, or has she grown into the person he wants to marry?
Pattinson is brilliant in his portrayal of Charlie’s frustration and internal conflict, only adding to the uncomfortable watch this movie becomes which is entirely intentional from Norwegian director Kristoffer Borgli.
While Pattinson is fantastic and Borgli is solid with his direction, it does mean that Zendaya, who is incredible in the scenes she is in, takes a back seat.
I wouldn’t say Zendaya is wasted, but Pattinson gets all the heavy emotional beats of the film and by doing so, become the lead of the movie, hurting Emma’s character as a result.
The exploration is solely focused on Charlie’s point of view, which does little to determine whether Emma has changed from when she committed her dark deed.
While not a positive or negative, it is worth noting that the tension of this film is palpable. For a two-hour movie, it’s reasonable to assume that many people watching will feel overwhelmed by the weight of it all across an extended period.
In terms of a character drama (excuse the pun), The Drama is an entertaining deep dive that focuses less on plot and more on exploring themes.
It’s further proof that when it comes to producing movies with original ideas and forcing viewers to dig a little deeper, A24 is unmatched.
The Drama is currently showing in cinemas across the country.
Original Article published by Jarryd Rowley on Region Canberra.
