The Drama (dir. Kristoffer Borgli)

by Jack Martin | Apr 5, 2026

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 105 mins

UK Distributor: Entertainment Film Distributors

UK Release Date: 3 April 2026

WHO’S IN THE DRAMA?

Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Mamoudou Athie, Alana Haim, Hailey Benton Gates, Zoë Winters, Anna Baryshnikov

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Kristoffer Borgli (director, writer), Ari Aster, Tyler Campellone and Lars Knudsen (producers), Daniel Pemberton (composer), Arseni Khachaturan (cinematographer), Joshua Raymond Lee (editor)

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

A soon-to-be-wed couple (Zendaya and Pattinson) deal with the aftermath of a shocking confession…

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON THE DRAMA?

It’s common to get cold feet just before the warmth of a wedding. Even hours before the ceremony, thoughts can often enter our mind about whether or not we’re about to make the biggest mistake of our lives, creating further anxieties about who we’re about to settle down with. But although we eventually brush our worries and fears aside and just simply get on with it, writer-director Kristoffer Borgli asks, with his latest film The Drama, an intriguing question: what if we couldn’t? What if there was just one lingering thing about our soon-to-be spouse that was too big to ignore, even if it ultimately amounts to nothing? And most of all, could there be a way forward despite our grievances?

In retrospect, these questions seem fairly straightforward, but keep in mind that it is Kristoffer Borgli who’s asking them, and if you’ve seen his previous films Sick of Myself and Dream Scenario then you’ll know that you’re in for some twisted answers. And just as he did with those films, the satirist filmmaker is relentless in his scathing critique of human nature and our ability to handle every little fact about the people we cherish the most in our lives. Though in the case of The Drama, the end result is more uncomfortable than it is truly provocative.

The film is about young couple Charlie (Robert Pattinson) and Emma (Zendaya), who are days away from their wedding and are putting together the final pieces of their perfect day as well as dealing with a few unexpected problems, namely catching their DJ supposedly smoking an illegal substance on the street and wondering whether or not to let her go because of it. This leads to a drunken discussion with Rachel (Alana Haim), Emma’s maid of honour, and Mike (Mamoudou Athie), Charlie’s best man, about the worst thing they’ve ever done in their lives… but it is Emma’s deeply disturbing answer that shocks everyone to their core, most of all Charlie who cannot seem to look or even think about her in the same way. Naturally, this causes plenty of awkwardness throughout the rest of the lead-up to their big day, the majority of it stemming from Charlie’s inability to let go of the fact that Emma, despite being perfect in every other possible way, may not be as flawless as he assumed.

It’ll be hard to analyse this movie without divulging exactly what Emma’s big secret is, since it forms quite a significant chunk of the material thereafter, but since it is meant to come as a massive shock (except to those who may have already come across online spoilers), I’ll boldly refrain from revealing it here. But you should know that it revolves around a particularly dark topic that has become frighteningly frequent in American society, not to mention heavily politicised and discussed to the point where most are now simply numb to its presence. Borgli surprisingly avoids provocation by showing none of it, yet as it does with Charlie the lingering thought of it remains in a series of unsettling images that bring to the forefront how prominent, even fetishised, such things have become in our world.

But the film isn’t truly about the very thing that Emma admits to doing (or not doing, in her case). The Drama is about how others react to that very thing, be they good or bad – mostly bad, with Rachel in particular going full scorched-earth on their friendship despite herself admitting to something that’s arguably crueller because, unlike with Emma, it actually happened – and how their resulting single-mindedness on the whole situation leads to them making things a whole lot worse. Borgli conveys it all with fiery precision, in a script that sharply critiques the hypocrisies and aggravating self-righteousness of certain characters that cannot, or will not, accept that the past is the past and just move on, even if it’s abundantly clear that the person is no longer who they claim to have been. It’s also darkly funny in spots, with a photo session featuring Materialists standout Zoë Winters being a masterclass in precise and a bit too on-the-nose subtext, while both Pattinson and Zendaya manage to deliver a pair of wired lead performances that play very well into their characters’ growing anxieties and insecurities.

However, The Drama doesn’t quite fulfil its heavy promise of full-blown satirical awkwardness. Comparatively speaking, this is a much more restrained offering from Borgli that certainly dabbles in some twisted ideas and concepts but mostly keeps things at a grounded level, to where you almost miss the absurdist extremities of his past films. There are also quite a few times when you’re left disoriented by some very choppy editing, which often cuts back and forth between scenes to things that happen either before or after, which is obviously done to create a sense of discomfort, especially as things boil to an almost irreversible heat, but the intended effect is overshadowed by the uncertainty you feel as to where exactly we are in the story. It also concludes on a sweet but relatively safe note, even though by that point you’re left feeling as though things would work out so much better for most of these people, including and most notably our two leads, if they stayed as far away from each other as they possibly could.

It is most certainly an anti-rom-com filled with cringe-inducing dark comedy, similar to how Splitsville unpacked certain genre conventions (albeit in a far less twisted manner), though that is perhaps the stronger film because you get a sense that the characters in that movie could at least function together despite their differences. Not so much the central couple in The Drama, for there’s just way too much chaotic instability between them to see a bright and prosperous future in their midst, even if Borgli does what he can to suggest otherwise.

SO, TO SUM UP…

The Drama is a tightly wound cringe comedy that dissects our inability to let go of the smallest of nitpicks about our other halves, which writer-director Kristoffer Borgli satirises with sharp bite and disorienting if occasionally spotty editing, even though it ultimately plays things much safer than fans of the filmmaker would have liked.