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I saw The Drama on a date with my wife and it was a bumpier movie than I was expecting. The trailer made it seem like an R-rated romcom. Maybe similar to Pitch Perfect or Love Actually? Definitely not what I got.

The basic plot is that a couple are about to get married. Emma (Zendaya) is marrying Charlie (Robert Pattinson) in a week. As they’re getting ready they decide to say the worst thing that each of them has done. This revelation cascades into a farce that derails the wedding. Is it funny? Sort of, in the same way that The Graduate is funny. It’s a satire of romcom movies but swings too far towards an actual drama film to be really funny.

A unique editing tactic is used in The Drama. To show what characters are thinking, we get to see the scenes they’re imagining. It’s a bit hard to track though as its unclear if a scene is progressing in reality or in a character’s imagination until you’re a few shots into it. I think it was a wonderful idea but could’ve used some visual or audio cues to tell the audience if a particular shot was real or imagined.

The acting in the film is excellent. Most of this hinges on Zendaya and Pattinson who both did a great job of portraying their characters as they go through a range of complicated emotions leading up to the wedding. The supporting cast do a great job as well.

The music perfectly accentuates the acting. It might also be the biggest thing that swings The Drama from being a romcom to a dramatic film. Instead of an uplifting slapstick soundtrack, there’s a high tension wind section. Whenever the audience might want to start relaxing, along comes a few high pitched flute notes to put you on edge.

The cinematography of the film was amazing. Typical great quality you’d expect from the production company, A24. The best example is how the couple was filmed. They’re in many shots together at the start of the film. Once the “worst thing you’ve done” secret is revealed, the characters stop being in the same shot, even if they are in the same scene together. That slowly slides back to them being in the same shots together as they move through their character growth.

The Drama is a bit difficult to provide an accurate review without ruining the plot. I’d like to give away the twist as it is a type of trigger warning that might make people not want to see the movie. I probably would not have chosen to see the movie if I had know the twist ahead of time. I am glad that I did go see it though. All that said, the twist is below and you can skip or read that part of the review, as you wish.

Would I recommend this movie? Hard to say. I probably wouldn’t personally recommend it to anyone I know without revealing the twist. I think it was a good movie. I’m glad I saw it. I don’t think I want to see it again. Kind of like Dead Man Walking. One of my favorite films and I don’t think I ever want to watch it again (I have seen it three times already).

Who would like this film? I’m not sure. I think that’s an issue for a lot of A24 movies. They make really good films, but there isn’t a clear demographic that you can point to and say, “They will like this movie.” I think people that like really good films will like The Drama. From a film construction perspective its quite good. The imaginary scenes, the music, the cinematography, all amazing. I can definitely see this film being studied in movie production classes in the future.

If you want to see The Drama it came out on April 3rd 2026 and should be in your local theater for the next few weeks.