There are many ways to break the traditional narrative structure of the romantic comedy, and The Drama, by Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli, uses all of them. In a way, I should have been prepared for an unusual story since I was already familiar with Borgli’s previous work, Dream Scenario, where he puts Nicolas Cage through absolute chaos. Now it is Zendaya and Robert Pattinson’s turn to experience another nightmare built around a fractured love story.
Charlie and Emma are the perfect couple, and in just a few days, they are set to celebrate their wedding. Everything seems fine until an event from Emma’s past shakes their world and puts the marriage in jeopardy. A story from her teenage years disturbs Charlie and destroys everything he believed he knew about his partner. Doubt settles into the groom’s mind, and from that moment, anxiety slowly begins to consume him. The screenplay, written by the director himself, takes time to find its rhythm. At first, it disguises itself as a romantic comedy, but then suddenly shifts direction and dives into drama infused with dark humor. The couple’s misery becomes the territory where the film truly finds its voice, as that biting humor gives life to a story whose first half feels somewhat flat.
The Drama is held together largely by the performances of Pattinson and Zendaya, both excellent in their roles. We absorb the turbulence of married life through them, not only in their dialogue or in the emotionally explosive moments, but also in the quieter scenes where their body language says everything. Another aspect worth highlighting is the editing, with the director collaborating alongside Joshua Raymond Lee. The film jumps across timelines and keeps us tense for much of its runtime, especially during the wedding sequence.
When the film fully embraces the emotional chaos of its characters, Borgli shows us his best work. The Drama transforms insecurity into paranoia and turns everyday relationship problems into an endless nightmare. There is a strange balance that does not always work between romantic drama and cruel dark humor, but when it does, it exposes human fragility and how a single idea can change everything in the blink of an eye.