“I’m A Film Writer & Here’s My Honest Review Of The Drama”

It’s been one of the most highly anticipated releases of 2026: Zendaya and Robert Pattinson sharing the screen in a film about a couple preparing for their wedding. But beneath the surface is a darkly controversial premise, making it a lot more intense than you might expect. Here’s one writer’s verdict:

Just a heads-up: If you haven’t seen the film yet, be warned, there are spoilers ahead!

So, what’s The Drama about?

A24 happily let the casting and the basic premise of The Drama do the talking in the build-up to release: Zendaya and Robert Pattinson starring as a couple about to marry in a romantic comedy film- who could resist? We’re introduced to Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Pattinson) at the start of the film with their very first (awkward) encounter at a cafe, where Charlie doesn’t realise Emma is half deaf. They seem like a close, normal couple doing well for themselves after we fast forward to the week of their wedding, which they’re helping to plan in part with their friends Mike (Mamoudou Athie) and Rachel (Alana Haim). All of these actors, by the way, put in very good performances- more on that later.

The big revelation

However, there’s also a crucial revelation quite early on that forms the crux of the film and has been kept under wraps. The twist has spread like wildfire on social media in recent days, and it’s important to understand the film so, be warned, we’re putting the spoiler in here. When Charlie, Mike and Rachel start asking each other “what’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?” one evening, Emma confesses to the fact she once plotted a school shooting as a teenager. It’s this thorny issue that The Drama boldly centres it’s plot around, and it becomes clear that this is a dark comedy, not a happy go lucky will they won’t they kind of film.

Zendaya and Robert Pattinson’s performances

Charlie is left unsure what to think about Emma’s past trouble, and is clearly shocked. A film like this, where the probing of a relationship and of who the other person is is the crux, relies on strong performances, and both leads do deliver. Zendaya’s Emma can be both seemingly confident and with a mischievous sense of humour to her friends, but also quiet and vulnerable. Despite her protestations that she’s definitely changed and moved on, she seems unsure whether she herself has become a better person or if she’s still deep down hiding violence. Pattinson as Charlie keeps up his consistently top-notch string of performances, a character who is both perhaps more gentle and prone to defusing situations, as well as clearly intelligent and well-read. Their relationship feels like a believable modern couple, making the fact that it may all fall apart all the more engrossing for us watching. Alana Haim’s Rachel becomes a main source of conflict with Emma, since her cousin is revealed to have been paralysed in a gun incident at her own school.

Unpacking its unsettling tone

We know early on we’re dealing with controversial territory with the shooting aspect, but the film makes things extra unnerving in how it’s directed and works as a film. Shots change abruptly, sound and music are used skillfully and jarringly at a few key points to increase tension, and there are several times where it’s apparent that something happening on screen is just a brief daydream or piece of imagination before it goes back to reality. All the while, you’re not quite sure what to believe, let alone who to believe. All of these elements, I thought, worked really effectively most of the time, and you could feel in my screening the mounting nervous energy. We also discover along the way that other characters, too, are not necessarily perfect people- Charlie himself is revealed to have a few key flaws, and everything seems ready to crack as the wedding day approaches.

Does it all come together?

We learn that Emma’s plan to kill her classmates (which she gets unsettling close to doing, and causes her partial deafness when she practices with a rifle) was when she was at her lowest point at school. The flashback scenes play out with a painful reminder of how harsh it can be to fit in as a teen. When the film concluded, and the credits started to roll, I felt like everything mostly worked, but that the last 15 minutes or so and the ultimate ending, maybe, were a little anticlimactic, or at least could’ve been given more impact. The school shooting issue will surely prove controversial, and perhaps more could have been done to address it in the film. Ultimately, though, The Drama is highly entertaining (if nerve-racking at times), and, if you don’t mind the unconventional premise, delivers on putting Zendaya and Pattinson together.