• Director: Kristoffer Borgli
• Screenplay: Kristoffer Borgli
• Cast: Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Alana Haim, Mamoudou Athie
• Cinematography: Arseni Khachaturan
• Editing: Joshua Raymond Lee, Kristoffer Borgli
• Score: Daniel Pemberton
• Genre: Romantic black-comedy
• Runtime: 105 minutes

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?

For me, it would be neglecting this blog for a hot minute. I was catching some z’s. I digress.

A chance sighting of their wedding DJ smoking heroin on the street results in soon-to-be-wed couple Emma and Charlie (Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, respectively) discussing where to draw the line when it comes to a person’s most shameful wrongdoing. At what point does the unacceptable become the unforgivable?

This conversation isn’t in the privacy of their bedroom either. With their friends across the table goading them and with alcohol rendering them vulnerable, the couple divulge their deepest and darkest deed. Whereas Charlie cyberbullied a classmate when he was younger (quickly dismissed as teenage tomfoolery), Emma’s confession leaves the group reeling. She quite literally spills her guts, her long-buried secret uncomfortably dredged up for an airing.

I won’t reveal what she says. I (somehow) managed to go in blind, avoiding the slightest whisper of a spoiler on X. It sure is dark though. Bear in mind it’s a comedy, one so jet-black, and the humour is intentional.

This truth bomb obliterates any idea of blissful matrimony the pair had prior. Emma pushes it further down; she’s evolved as a person and doesn’t need pseudo-therapy from her partner. Is Charlie’s love for Emma so strong it can surmount this revelation? He spirals downwards. It’s not even his burden to share but the fallout from it causes him to question everything he thought he knew about his potential bride.

Both giving excellent performance, the duo uplift this risky hot-button issue dramedy into something more thought-provoking. With my lips sealed as per the subject matter, I will say this: ‘The Drama‘ is artfully shot.

My rating: 8 / 10