FILM REVIEW - The Drama
By The Masked Medic
A long holiday has led to a long break from watching and reviewing films. But no more. I am back. I wanted to ease myself into watching something that wasn’t too brain-intensive, ha! Since I’ve picked the last few films that we’ve seen, my wife stated that it was time I let her choose, and choose well she did!
‘The Drama’ is a very simple story about a young couple, Charlie and Emma, who are looking forward to their upcoming nuptials. We see their first meeting, with Charlie attempting to impress Emma by talking about the book that she is reading, but it goes terribly, and Emma asks if he wants to ‘start over’. We fast forward two years, and Charlie and Emma are now engaged and organising different aspects of their wedding. One night, they see their DJ smoking heroin on the side of a road, which promptly leads to the two questioning if it’s appropriate to have her at their wedding. During a food tasting, with Charlie’s best friend Mike and his wife Rachel, the four discuss the worst things they’ve ever done. When Emma discloses hers, the mood changes, and there’s a shift in her relationship with Charlie. As he attempts to get his head around it, Emma tries her best to suppress her fiancé’s anxiety, but with the wedding just days away, will the two of them even make it to the altar?
Let’s talk about our two leads. Playing Charlie was Robert Pattinson. He does well to play a sort of awkward and anxious character, but naturally, we’ve seen that before from him. That being said, I did remark that I think he’s done a pretty good job of re-inventing himself from the Twilight days, and his performance in this film shows that even for simple roles, his ability to act has markedly improved. The same could be said for his co-star, Zendaya, who plays Emma. Zendaya, unlike Pattinson, has had a steadier come-up. We’ve seen her in Disney shows, we’ve seen her in Spider-Man, and then in Dune. However, she too is starting to take more layered and complex roles, and although her performance as Emma is not her best, it still shows growth and maturity. I do have to mention the two supporting leads. Mike, played by Mamoudou Athie, and Rachel, played by Alana Haim. Athie did a good job, but I have to give Haim her props. I’ve not seen her in anything; I only know her to be one of the members of the band Haim, but she can definitely act, and she does a pretty great job of being a mean girl. They both complement the characters of Charlie and Emma well, and overall, it’s not a huge cast, but it really doesn’t need to be!
The first thing I have to say is that it was such an A24 film. I’ve often spoken about the kind of films that the studio is producing, but from the get-go, I joked that it was typical A24. That, by the way, isn’t a good or bad thing, just my opinion. The film is pretty simple in its plot and design, but that works. Where it excels is its ability to switch seamlessly between present and past and weave that all together. In terms of themes, it was funny because my wife and I both felt that the two leads didn’t look like they had chemistry, but actually watching the film, you see how that chemistry develops in a sort of organic way, which is fun to watch. The film tackles a couple of interesting themes too, mainly, how do we hold people accountable for their past actions, but also, how does compatibility between couples really work?
The cinematography was again simple but effective. There were these really clever shots scattered through the film, and the way they seamlessly transition between adult Emma and younger Emma was really good. I’d say the music was not very prominent, which perhaps let the film down a little bit. Overall, it was a decent watch, nothing too serious, but sometimes that’s okay!
Rating:
Story: ★★½
Acting: ★★★½
Cinematography: ★★★½
Music: ★★½
Enjoyability: ★★★½