“The Drama” Is a Cautionary Tale of Modern Morality and Intention
What would you do if you learned that the love of your life, who you’re about to marry, shared a dark secret that fundamentally changes the way you see them? That’s the dilemma that the protagonists of Norwegian director Kristoffer Borgli’s newest movie, The Drama, face. True to its name, the film centers on the drama and fallout that ensues after a fiancé learns a harrowing secret of his soon-to-be bride.
It makes for a darkly comical movie that’s equal parts intriguing and uncomfortable. But beyond the marketing that depicts the film as an extremely stressful week before a wedding, The Drama reveals itself to be an exploration into how forgiveness and understanding are processed in this day and age. Does thinking about doing something bad already makes you a bad person? That’s the question The Drama tries to tackle, and as the movie points out, the answer isn’t as easy as it seems.
Spoilers for The Drama ahead
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She’s The Drama
The Drama follows British expat and museum curator Charlie (Robert Pattinson) and literary editor Emma (Zendaya), who meet in a café and quickly fall in love. The movie fast-forwards a couple of years to them already engaged with their wedding fast approaching. All seems well, that is, until, during a game of “What’s the Worst Thing You’ve Ever Done? ” with their friends, Rachel (Alana Haim) and Mike (Mamoudou Athie), sends Charlie and Emma’s relationship spiraling.
The crux of the film’s plot comes when Emma reveals that when she was 15 years old, she thought about committing a shooting in her school. The revelation understandably shocks the room, especially Rachel, who shares that she has a cousin who is wheelchair bound because she’s a victim of a school shooting. Charlie, meanwhile, is left rattled as his mind begins to picture Emma as a gun-obsessed shooter. The idea consumes his whole life into a depressing pitfall that nearly shatters his perception of her.
Most of the movie depicts Emma as the villain in the eyes of her friends, especially Rachel, and she is made to feel like she’s a monster just for thinking of doing it. However, it should be noted that Emma actually never committed the act. As revealed in a flashback, Emma was bullied badly at her school, and compounded with how prevalent school shootings are in America, led Emma to plan a shooting in her school. When a mass shooting at a nearby mall occurs, though, Emma forgoes doing it as she saw the physical, emotional, and mental toll it took on her community. Not only did she throw the gun away, but she also joined a local gun control group and dedicated years of her life to anti-gun activism.
Yes, gun violence is a serious issue that should never be taken lightly. But Emma repented, yet she is made to feel like she committed murder just for thinking about it. Meanwhile, her friends actually committed an act. Mike used his ex-girlfriend as a human shield against a rabid dog. Rachel locked a kid, who is inferred to be mentally disabled, in a closet in the woods when she was young and didn’t tell anyone about it. Charlie cyberbullied someone so badly at 14 years old that the victim and his parents had to move.
The tension that Emma’s confession leads to is thick, but digging deeper, it feels one-sided. It’s interesting how Emma does something to atone for what she did while Charlie, who was around the same age as Emma when he did the cyberbullying, is not sure what happened to his victim. It’s a notable double standard in how Emma is the bad guy, afforded little understanding, while the rest are saints despite actually committing their acts.
Better Than You
Among Emma’s friends, it’s Rachel who leads the charge in making Emma feel bad for what she did. Admittedly, part of that animosity comes from a personal place. However, Rachel also refuses to listen to explanations from Emma and Charlie or understand why Emma almost went down that road. It’s not hard to say that Rachel has a moral superiority complex, who sees herself as better than Emma without fully grasping the context of the situation, and despite having her own flaws.
The Drama isn’t subtle about its depiction of hypocrisy, but it also serves as a reflection of how a lot of people today act when faced with these kinds of scenarios. Just go on social media, and it’s evident that people want visible good and bad guys over nuance. Many see things as black and white instead of understanding the facts and context of the situation. Such is the case for Emma because, unlike her, Rachel actually did commit an objectively wrong act but still positions herself as morally superior. The same also goes for Charlie, whose severe cyberbullying is brushed off as a byproduct of being a young boy.
In a world where people are quick to jump to conclusions, women, and especially women of color, often face the worst of it as stereotypes and biases override logic and understanding. The movie uses morality as a tool to make Emma feel bad for herself, which is not unlike what also happens in real life.
More than just a couple going through the rocks, the film is also about who gets the benefit of the doubt, who is allowed complexity, who is reduced to their worst moment, and who gets to position themselves as morally superior. Love thrives on honesty, and not all truths are easy to accept. But love is also a two-way street, which is not what Charlie showed Emma, as he didn’t afford her the same grace and empathy Emma showed him.
Let’s Be Kinder
Despite how tumultuous things become, The Drama ends on a somewhat positive note. Following their chaotic wedding, Charlie and Emma run into each other at a local dinner. Emma had every right to leave him behind for what he did. But instead, she showed him forgiveness and gave him a second chance. It’s an ending that mirrors the beginning of the film, where Emma lets Charlie try his introduction again at the cafe after he fumbles their first meeting.
Emma is depicted as an empath, which was reflected in how she felt for her community after the shooting and her forgiving Charlie after what he did to her. It shows how she believes in second chances, which was something she was not afforded by her partner and friends. That’s what makes Emma different, and arguably better, than the people around her: she believes in understanding and starting over.
Ultimately, The Drama will be dissected and critiqued in multiple ways, given its heavy subject matter, as is the nature of art. The debate on intention vs. action and whether or not you’re already a bad person just for thinking about something isn’t so clear-cut, but we’d argue that The Drama shows us the pitfalls of judgment and the need for a little more empathy in this world.
Love in the movie isn’t just a connection, but an act of forgiveness and understanding, even when some feel it is not warranted. Like Emma, it doesn’t hurt to hear people out and lend an empathetic hand in a world that can be so cruel, so quick.
Featured Image and Photos: IMDB, PIONEER FILMS PHILIPPINES, and A24
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“The Drama” Is a Cautionary Tale of Modern Morality and Intention
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