The Drama (2026) Review

Kristoffer Borgli is a filmmaker who enjoys ruminating on controversial themes and characters in darkly humorous ways, and The Drama continues the vaguely edgy, intentionally provocative vibe of his previous film, Dream Scenario. While this film makes for a wild, tense time at the theater— with the cast delivering some genuine career-high performances— it leans too heavily on a controversial twist, and doesn’t do enough with its characters to elevate its premise beyond basic musings on the limits of empathy and the nature of unconditional love. Still, I had a great time watching this film, and despite it not fully living up to the high expectations we all collectively imposed on it, the cinema experience was hilarious and supremely entertaining. You really have to experience a packed theater during this film— hearing and feeling the audience react to the chaos and audaciousness of the film in real time is definitely worth it.

I can’t describe much more without ruining what makes the film unique, as the now infamous mid-film twist is a major reason the movie has been so anticipated and talked about in the first place. Anyone who saw the ad campaign knows the trailers were intentionally vague- so vague in fact, that dozens of possible twists were floating around online. That mystique was absolutely a big part of the draw, and upon seeing the film, it’s obvious why.

Positives

The film centers on love— specifically, where the limits of love lie, and whether unconditional love is even possible when you truly know the worst things about someone. It’s a strong premise, and the movie does a good job juxtaposing the naïveté of young love with the anxiety that you may not actually know the person you’re committing to. It also plays with forgiveness and empathy in interesting ways.

The dialogue and acting are the real standouts, and honestly, they carry the entire runtime. Much of the film takes place around dinner tables and in living rooms, with conversation doing most of the heavy lifting. Some scenes are so tense, so painfully awkward, that it becomes physically hard not to look away. That only works because the performances are so committed. Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, in particular, give everything to their performances— often literally with their blood, sweat, and tears. Pattinson and Zendaya had a palpable chemistry throughout the entire film, and their acting absolutely carried the film on their backs.

   

The editing also helps build and maintain tension and anxiety consistently throughout the film. Past and future moments cut in unexpectedly, offering premonitions and fragments of the past that keep the audience unsettled. Once the twist hits, the film spirals into a mess of tension and unpredictability that makes it hard to guess what’s coming next. The cinematography itself was not necessarily notable, but the film did look fantastic in its color grading, and the camera work shifted between tight closeups and handheld shots that added to the tension and detail of each scene.

I personally love dialogue-heavy films, and even though the plot is thin, the humor and tension in the dialogue give the movie a chaotic energy. It’s an entertaining train wreck, driven almost entirely by top-tier acting.

Negatives

Aside from the controversial premise and the central theme of unconditional love, The Drama falls a bit short. This is largely due to its thin plot and minimal characterizations. Despite some fantastic dialogue scenes, the relatively short runtime still drags in the middle because the film leans so heavily on its twist.

For instance, we learn almost nothing about the characters or their emotional core. Zendaya’s character, at least, has her backstory revealed, and that helps to contribute to some character arc. Walking out of the theater, though, I realized we know virtually nothing about Pattinson’s character— no backstory, no grounding details, no subtle hints that give us something to hold onto. The reason we care at all about his character is purely because of the strength of his performance, which is undeniably excellent.

The film’s biggest weakness is that it probably would have worked better as a short film. It feels like everything was built around the twist, leaving a premise that might have been more effective in a tighter, more focused format. Then, at least, the issues with the films emotional depth and lack of characterization wouldn’t have been as glaring.

Conclusion

The core of the film is its unpredictability, which is both a blessing and a curse. Once you know the twist, there’s not many reasons to revisit it. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; some movies are designed to shock and entertain in the moment, rather than reward repeated viewings. Still, the film might have had more staying power if it spent less time trying to be provocative and more time building depth.

Ironically, the movie isn’t all that edgy, anyway. If it wanted to truly lean into provocation, it has a long way to go compared to contemporaries who weave controversial themes directly into their characters and worldbuilding. Here, the controversy feels like the core, with the rest sort of loosely written up around it, rather than being organically built in to an already interesting story.

With more character depth, the themes (and especially the ending) would have felt much more earned and emotionally impactful. Ari Aster (who was a producer on The Drama) did this masterfully with Eddington and Beau is Afraid, which both ruminate on much more complex themes with much more depth. Even Bugonia, (made by a filmmaker famous for being emotionally obtuse and intentionally subversive) had more character depth and emotionality than The Drama— and it was certainly a much more fully-formed film overall.

In the end, The Drama is tense, sometimes funny, sometimes awkward, sometimes sweet, but it never quite reaches the heights of its hype or potential. With a stronger emotional core or richer characterization, it could have been fantastic, possibly even a contender for best of the year so far.

Instead, it’s a fun, chaotic film that most people probably won’t revisit. There’s not much to unpack once you’ve experienced the film once, since we never fully connect with or get to truly know the characters. The film’s core themes, though interesting, are obvious and were sadly written as fairly surface level. Still, I had a good time with the film. Pattinson and Zendaya absolutely carry the film with committed, impressive performances that are worth seeing on their own, and it’s certainly an interesting, wild ride.