I’ll do my best to not spoil this movie. It’s kind of the whole thing. It’s so much the whole thing that the production company A24 is being sued over the distribution and marketing of the film. It’s labeled as false marketing. I mean - it is. But the film is better for it.
I’ll do my best to not spoil anything in the movie, at least, hopefully.
‘The Drama’ is the most Woody Allen-esque film that is not written, directed, or starring Woody Allen. It’s just kind of got that vibe. The Annie Hall influence is there. Woody Allen’s signature neurotic humor, surrealism, and simultaneous heartfelt storytelling are all there. Massachusetts is a stand in for New York, but it could have just as easily been set there. The director employs a technique Woody Allen often used: surrealism to show a mental state of being. Showing characters that were adults and then suddenly children in the same seen to highlight vulnerability is a trademark Woody Allen technique pioneered in Annie Hall. And as creepy as Woody Allen is, he made interesting movies. It’s good to see his influence in a positive way and honestly I”m here for it. It’ is a shame but you really can’t talk about a romantic comedy with out bringing him up.
Woody Allen’s influence is apparent almost immediately as the opening scene is - fuck it - character names don’t matter. The opening scene is the two biggest stars in Hollywood right now, Robert Patterson and Zendaya asking each other out. It’s cute. It’s irreverent. It’s rare to see on screen as it maybe is relatable to an older generation of people. As in modern society a man asking out a woman to go on a date in person is probably the bravest thing a man can do outside of signing up to join the armed forces. This film has kind of a timelessness to it. Yes - there are cellphones and some modern technology, but this film could have easily taken place in the nineties or early two-thousands. An earlier generation of this movie might have starred John Cusack. Because really the bones of this movie is that it is a romantic comedy.
It is so much more than that. But it has you believing it’s a romantic comedy until a hard pivot. But even then, it’s still got the heart and soul of a romantic comedy.
You believe it too because Robert Pattinson and Zendaya have very kinetic chemistry. It seems to make so much sense that they are a couple on screen that you would believe that they were also together in real life and are equally gushy over each other. It doens’t feel forced in the movie, it feels like a natural progression. Pattinson in particular shines in this film, as you would never think based on this performance that he also plays Batman and brings vengeance to Gotham. He plays a sensitive, meek, John Cusack/Woody Allen type of character that is more intellectual than machismo. Zendaya brings her trademark smile and playfulness that she brings to every project she is in, although here it seems as though she has figured out how to be warmer. Her previous work such as Euphoria and Spider-Man, she plays playful characters, but they always had a tinge of guarded sarcasm. It seems that in The Drama she has matured as an actress and her performance has a refreshing depth that is warm, friendly, loving but also damaged and sad.
I have always felt that one of Zendaya’s strengths as an actress is that she is beautiful but not in the traditionally, leading woman way. She is not Margot Robbie. It serves her well because she can play more grounded characters and her good looks and celebrity don’t distract really from that. She has a duality that she is a Hollywood darling, but also you could realistically see a woman like that sitting at a coffee shop listening to music and reading a book. Both Robert Pattinson and Zendaya serve the movie wall and seem, eh, as the cool kids say - chill?
The Drama does something that I really enjoyed and I hope more movies do this, but it employed editing to add surrealism. For example, the aforementioned opening scene where Pattinson asks out Zendaya, the character plays out in his head how it’s going to work out, you see this on screen, and then you see his actual attempt. It adds humor and humanity all simultaneously. But it also allows the audience to get a sort of choose your own adventure fantasy while also learning the characters mental state. It’s brilliant and refreshing storytelling that you do not seen that often. In a less comedic way, later in the film, Zendaya seems to overhear something two other characters are saying about her, and then we see her spiral, visually catastrophising the entire situation before the film cuts back to her breathing heavily trying to figure out what to do. Often editing done in this way can be distracting and confusing, as it causes you to be taken out of the movie and realize you are watching a film, but The Drama uses it to great affect and the film is better for it. I think the editing is kind of the unsung hero of this film.
Ultimately, if you have ever been in a relationship or a situationship, you will relate to this movie. If you have ever been to a wedding or have been intimately involved in the planning of one, you will relate to this movie. I’m not the biggest fan of the romantic comedy, as the genre has sort of died over the years, but there was a time where the Cameron Crowes of the world ruled Hollywood. The Drama isn’t quite Say Anything, or Annie Hall, but it’s damn near close and that is a refreshing breath of fresh air.
FAIR WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
The Drama pivots hard around the twenty minute mark. The lovely couple, Robert Pattinson and Zendaya, are deep into planning their wedding. Up until this point, the movie has been what was advertised, a romantic comedy about how these two star-crossed lovers met each other, how they are planning to say their vows, and how their little quirks make them love each other all that more truly, deeply, madly, do. They are planning the wedding with the best man and the bride of honor, they are trying to pick the wine for the wedding, and they drink too much. The table conversation between the two couples devolves into discussing what is the worst thing that they have ever done.
You know, as you do.
The scene is meant to be playful like “I did this fucked up thing when I was younger, but I’ve aged and matured and I”m a totally different person now.” Until they get to Zendaya: who reveals that when she was in high school she planned a school shooting. However, at the last minute, she came to her senses and she did not go through with it. Whew! Close one, right guys?
But now we know something that we cannot un-know. This is the brilliance of The Drama. Marketed as a 90’s throwback heartfelt Woody Allen-esque romantic comedy, is really a drama wrapped up in dramatic irony. As soon as that information is shared, planned a school shooting, it impacts the entirety of the rest of the film. Like how do you marry a person that was going to plan a school shooting? The film goes from feeling like a throw back, which it still is, but now with this modern lense of kids with too much internet and firearms access. If A24 marketed the movie as an intellectual exercise about the impact school shootings have on modern life and society, would you want to see that? God no. Sure - let's go see the movie about school shootings honey, starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. Don’t forget the popcorn!
The Drama asks a question that we all should face: do past actions define you as a person? The saying often goes: the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. But is that really true? Can people evolve and grow? What about innocent until proven guilty? Does a person thinking about doing a crime, even going so far as to plan it, the same as actually doing it? It may not come off as such a big deal to me - I’m a millennial. But if you ask the younger generations, the Gen Z generation, dealing and living with shootings is a very real thing. They are the generation that had to live through the defining time of school shootings: hearing about them, learning what to do if they happen, their schools running drills for them. It’s impacted the Gen Z generation more than any other generation before and it’s important to keep that in mind.
I also found it interesting that Zendaya was the potential school shooter and not Robert Pattinson. Typically, shootings are done by white men historically. The film takes an interesting angle making the shooter not only not white but also female, when that is incredibly rare, although it unfortunately does happen. I bring this up because if it was Pattinson that was planning the shooting, would it get as much attention? Would it be seen as typical CIS white male behavior?
Ultimately, this movie is a romantic comedy with moments of brevity and empathy. The film makes you understand where Zendaya is coming from. You understand why her future husband understands where she is coming from and decides to look past it. I think this movie is a commentary on society never giving anyone a way back when they take missteps and it makes the case that everyone deserves a second chance.