A24 did it again. And by “did it again,” I mean left me sitting in my seat, wondering what exactly I just sat through for the last two hours. Look, I have a long and complicated relationship with A24. I either love them, or I don’t — there’s never any middle ground. The Iron Claw? Loved it. Licorice Pizza? Don’t get me started. The Drama falls firmly in the “did not love it” column.
The story itself is okay. It has a genuinely provocative premise — the kind that should make for a wild ride. Director Kristoffer Borgli made Dream Scenario for A24, that dark Nicolas Cage film where he appears in everyone’s dreams. Same energy here: uncomfortable situations, morally murky characters, and a director who seems more interested in sitting in the discomfort than doing anything with it. For some people, that’s a feature. For me, this time around, it was a bug.
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What completely derailed it was the characters. Robert Pattinson’s Charlie was cringe-worthy in the worst way — not in a “this is intentionally painful, and I can’t look away” kind of way, but in a “please do something, anything” kind of way. He spent most of the movie looking like a deer caught in headlights, and not in an interesting way. There’s a difference between a character being lost and a character being boring, and Charlie landed squarely in boring.
Zendaya as Emma was so aloof I genuinely couldn’t tell if she cared about anything happening around her. And here’s the thing — I don’t think that’s entirely on her. The script doesn’t give Emma much to work with beyond being a walking plot device. Pattinson and Zendaya are two of the most watchable actors working right now, and somehow this movie made me not want to watch either of them. That takes effort.
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Then there were Rachel and Mike — the two friends — who were so annoying to watch that I found myself actively rooting for scenes without them in it. Not in a love-to-hate-them way. Just… get them off my screen.
The pacing didn’t do it any favors either. It moved slowly enough that I kept checking the clock, which is never a good sign when you’re supposed to be riveted by a crumbling relationship.
Here’s what I’ll say in its defense: the premise is bold, and Borgli clearly isn’t interested in making safe movies. I respect that even when it doesn’t land for me. And for what it’s worth, Zendaya and Pattinson will be back together on screen soon — they’re both starring in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, so there’s a chance their chemistry finds the right stage. This just wasn’t it.
The Drama isn’t the worst thing A24 has ever put out. But when the characters fail this completely, nothing else can save it. I wasn’t sad to see the credits roll.
Grade: D
About The Peetimes: Rachel says to Charlie, “Oh, so now it’s America’s fault?”
There are no extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of The Drama.
| Rated: | (R) |
| Genres: | Comedy, Romance |
| USA release date: | 2026-04-01 |
| Movie length: | |
| Starring: | |
| Director: | Kristoffer Borgli |
| Writer(s): | Kristoffer Borgli |
| Language: | en |
| Country: | US |
Plot
A happily engaged couple is put to the test when an unexpected turn sends their wedding week off the rails.
RunPee.com owes RunPee Sis a huge debt of gratitude. She sees any movie needed with no complaints and has done so for ten years (even basing Thanksgiving and Christmas family festivities around the seeing films). In 2015 Sis ran the entire RunPee enterprise herself, while RunPee Dan, Jilly and Mom went traipsing off to Europe. Sis is the spider in the web holding the RunPee family together — besides being a funny, well rounded person, and a joyous pleasure to be around. Her favorite films start and end with horror (which thank goodness she’s happy to see, since most of us don’t have the stomach for it) — but also likes silly comedies, sad dramas, and musicals of all types. If you’ve used a Peetime for a scary film, you probably have RunPee Sis to thank for it.
Favorite movie genre: Horror, horror, and more horror. The more disturbing, the better. Period.